Lost Then Found
by CSIFan4Life
Summary: A young woman and her family are the latest victims of a serial killer. She has a personal connection to two CSIs but which ones? Chapter 16 now up! Pairings CW, NS, and GregOther. Please R&R!
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This is my first CSI fanfic. I had been thinking of this for awhile and finally decided to write it down. I hope you all like it. Please review and tell me what you think. Any and all suggestions are welcome because I would like to make this as good as I can. Please read and review! 

If you are reading this for the first time then I wanted to let you know that I got a beta after chapter 2 so the writing gets better after that.

Summary: A young woman and her family are the latest victims of a serial killer. She has a personal connection to two CSIs but which ones are they? Read on and you will eventually find out.

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It was a rather slow night in the Las Vegas Crime Lab. The swing and night shifts had been working together on the case of a serial killer who was murdering wealthy families in their home. Before he killed the women he would rape them while he forced the men to watch. He would then strangle and stab the women after he raped them and then slit the men's throats. They had investigated all of the leads they had and were left in yet another dead end. Since there were no more leads to investigate they would have to wait until the killer struck again and hope he got sloppy and left a clue that would lead to his capture.

Grissom, Catherine, Warrick, Nick, Sara, and Greg were all sitting around the table in the break room going over the evidence and hoping maybe they missed something that would finally break the case. Of course there was nothing since they had gone over everything several times already. Nick was the first one to break the silence, "This is hopeless. We're never going to catch this guy."

Warrick responded, "Yeah. It sucks we're going to have to wait until he strikes again."

Just then Grissom's phone rang. "Grissom" he said as he answered. After a moment he said, "Ok. Thanks Brass. We'll be right there." Everyone turned toward him with questioning looks on their faces. "Well it looks like that wait is over. Another couple was found at 1037 Victoria Lane. Brass said the scene is a mess so I need everyone on this one. Let's hope he screwed up this time."

"That would be nice." Catherine said as she pushed back from the table and stood up. "I will be glad when this one is over."

"I think we all will be." Sara said as everyone else got up and headed out the door.

Once they arrived at the scene they climbed out of their SUVs and got their kits. Brass approached the group and said, "Our killer strikes again. It is a real mess in there. The victims are Joe and Silvia Miller. The next door neighbor Cassandra Jenkins had used a spare key to enter the house after the Millers failed to show up for a dinner party and didn't answer their phone. She discovered the bodies in the master bedroom. Mrs. Jenkins had said as soon as she found them she ran out of the house and called us."

"Alright then." Grissom said. "Warrick and Nick you take the perimeter. Sara and Greg you talk to Mrs. Jenkins and anyone else that might have seen or heard anything. Catherine and I will take the inside."

Sara and Greg approached Mrs. Jenkins who was standing near Brass' car. "Hello Mrs. Jenkins. My name is Sara Sidle and this is my colleague Greg Sanders. We're with the Crime Lab and we were hoping to ask you a few questions."

"Please call me Cassie and I'll be glad to help in anyway that I can." Mrs. Jenkins said with her voice shaking. "The Millers were our best friends. They are great people. I can't believe this happened to them. They have been our next door neighbors for over ten years."

"Cassie, did the Millers have any enemies or anyone angry with them?" Greg questioned.

"No. Like I said they were the greatest. Always helping out when anyone asked them for a favor and never asked for anything in return."

"We're they expecting any visitors this evening?" Sara asked.

"Not that I was aware of. I had talked to Silvia this afternoon on the phone and she didn't mention anything. She had…" Cassis stopped abruptly and gasped as she covered her mouth with her hand.

"Are you okay Cassie?" Greg asked, wondering what caused her to respond that way.

"It's just…I mean…I can't believe I didn't think of it before."

"What Cassie?" Sara asked. "Anything you can tell us will help our investigation."

"Where's Alex? Was she hurt too? Did you find her?" Cassie's voice was now filled with concern.

"Who's Alex?" Sara questioned.

"She's Joe's and Silvia's daughter. Well, they were Alex's foster parents for a year. They were going to adopt her but were having problems with the paper work and then Alex turned 18. Alex just finished her junior year of college and was going to stay with Joe and Silvia for the summer. They still considered Alex their daughter even though it was never made legal. She's even named as their sole beneficiary in their will. I hadn't seen Alex yet but Silvia told me she got home last night." Cassie then repeated her previous questions. "Did you find her? Is she okay?"

"I am sorry but the only people in the house were the Millers." Sara paused. "Cassie please calm down. I know this must be hard for you but we need to ask you a few more questions. What was Alex's full name?"

"Alexandra Miller. She changed her last name after she turned 18."

Greg then asked, "Can you tell us what she looked like?"

"Um. She's about 5 feet 9 inches tall. She has long strawberry blond hair. Blue eyes I think. She's was pretty thin, I am guessing she weighed around 125 pounds. Joe and Silvia had a picture of her on their mantel. She has shorter hair in the picture but I am pretty sure it is the most recent one they had. She also did a bit of modeling so she may have a portfolio around somewhere if you need more pictures."

Sara had been taking down the information Mrs. Jenkins had given them. "Thanks Cassie. We'll be in touch if we find out where Alexandra is and if we need anything more." Sara then turned to Greg. "Let's go inside and find that picture of Alexandra so we can get her picture circulating and find her." Sara and Greg entered the house to find Grissom hunched over, dusting a door for fingerprints.

"Grissom." Greg said. Grissom stopped what he was doing and stood up to face Sara and Greg.

"Did you find out anything from the neighbor?"

"Yeah. We did." Greg answered. "It turns out that the Millers had a daughter that arrived home last night from school to spend the summer with them."

"Brass didn't mention a daughter." Grissom said.

"Her name is Alexandra Miller and the Millers were actually her foster parents for a year and then she went away to college but she still lived with them when she wasn't at school." Sara told him. "Mrs. Jenkins had told us they kept a picture of her on her mantel. We came in to get it so we can get a search for her going and get her picture out there. If we're lucky we may have a living witness out there."

"Alright. You can get the picture and then get Nick and Warrick and let them know what is going on. As usual our perp didn't leave us much to work with here so Alexandra may be the break we have been waiting for. Catherine and I will stay here to gather the little evidence that there is. Call me and keep me updated."

Sara and Greg found the picture and left the house and ran into Nick and Warrick and told them what they found out. Sara then went up to Brass with the picture of Alexandra. "Hey Brass. We have a missing person to add to the case."

"The Miller's daughter right? I just found out about her from Mrs. Jenkins. Did you get the picture?"

"Yeah. Right here." Sara then handed the picture to Brass.

"I'll get this going around and let everyone know this is top priority. We may not have much time to find her alive if out perp got to her too. You four can start searching in the woods behind the house."

"Alright." Warrick said. "Let's go guys." Not much encouragement or instruction was really needed. Everyone knew how important Alexandra may be to finally breaking the case and how little time they may have to find her alive if she wasn't already dead. Warrick, Nick, Sara, and Greg had lined up along the edge of the woods along with some officers to start the search grid. It was still dark out so they all had their flashlights out going back and fourth and they walked searching for even the tiniest clue of Alexandra's whereabouts.

It had been about twenty minutes since they began the search when Nick and Sara heard a faint crying sound. They glanced at each other and by the look they saw on each others face they knew each other had both heard the same thing. They listened for it again. "Over here." Nick said as he pointed to the left and grabbed Sara's arm to guide her in the direction he heard the sound from. About thirty seconds later Nick's flashlight shone upon a figure sitting against a tree with her arms wrapped around her legs and her head down. Her body shook from the quite sobs she cried. "Alexandra?" Nick asked softly as he held his light and reached to put a hand on her shoulder.

It seemed as soon as Nick touched the girl she suddenly became aware of Nick and Sara and jumped and looked towards them with a look of sheer terror on her face. She quickly stood up and shouted at them, "GET AWAY! LEAVE ME ALONE!" She then turned away and started to run away from them but she was only able to take a few steps before Nick got in front of her. He put his hands up on her shoulders to stop her. "LET ME GO!" The girl shouted as she tried to get away. Nick didn't have a strong grip on her but she was weak and unable to move away. "WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?"

Nick asked, "Are you Alexandra Miller?"

Near being hysterical, the girl choked out, "How do you know me? Who are you?"

My name is Nick Stokes and this is Sara Sidle." Nick said as he gestured and pointed his flashlight towards where Sara was standing behind Alexandra. "We're from the Las Vegas Crime Lab. We were looking for you and we are here to help you." Nick dropped his hands from her shoulders.

"Why do you want to help me?" Alexandra asked quietly.

"Because that's part of our job." Sara answered.

"Why don't you follow us out of here and we can get you some help." Nick offered as the young woman appeared to have several injuries.

"Okay." Alexandra answered quietly as she started to sway a bit. She then fainted but before she could hit the ground Nick caught her in his arms and picked her up. She was already starting to come to and started to moan a bit. "It's okay. I got you." With Nick carrying Alexandra, Sara used her flashlight to guide them out of the Woods.

"We need some help here!" Sara shouted as they emerged from the woods and walked around to the front of the house. "We found Alexandra and she's hurt."

Nick carried Alexandra over to the ambulance where the paramedics were taking the stretcher out of the back. Nick then gently laid Alexandra down on the stretcher and stepped back to let the paramedics tend to her. "I don't want to go to the hospital. I hate it there." Alexandra cried.

"You have some pretty bad cuts that are going to need stitches and you need to get checked out by a doctor." One of the paramedics said to her.

"But I don't want to go!" Alexandra shouted as she was getting upset again and sat up and moved to get off the stretcher. A paramedic stopped her before she could get off.

"You really need to go." The paramedic said.

"NO!" Alexandra shouted again.

Sara then stepped up to stand to the right of Alexandra. Sara put her right hand on her shoulder and used her left hand to brush back some of Alexandra's hair. Alexandra seemed to calm down slightly and laid back down. "It's okay Alexandra. The paramedics just want to help you."

"I hate hospitals." Alexandra said quietly and turned her gaze away from Sara.

"How about if I go with you, will you go then?" Sara asked her.

"Fine. I'll go if you come with me." Alexandra said looking back at Sara.

"Let me go tell my boss I am going with you and then I will be right back."

"Okay." Alexandra said as she turned and stared at nothing in particular.

Sara walked over towards where Nick, Grissom, and Brass were standing and said, "Alexandra is refusing to go to the hospital unless I go with her. So I am going to go since we need to make sure they do a rape kit and to make sure they don't destroy any of our evidence."

Grissom then said, "Are you sure you want to do this? I can get someone else to go if you don't want to."

"Yeah. I'll be fine." Sara said

"Okay then. We are pretty much done here so come back to the lab when you are done at the hospital." Grissom told her.

"Alright." Sara said and then turned away and got her kit and went back to the ambulance. She climbed in next to Alexandra and then a paramedic shut the doors and walked around to the front and got in and a moment later the ambulance took off.

A/N: Again, I hoped you all like it. Please review so I know what you thought about it. I hope to have the next chapter up within a few days. I will be going away for the weekend so if I don't get it up before I leave I will post it as soon as I can when I get back. The more reviews I get the more motivated I will be to get it up faster (Hint, Hint).


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Thank you, thank you, thank you so much for all of the wonderful reviews. I appreciate them a lot. I also want to thank those who gave me suggestions to improve my writing. Anyone willing to beta for me? Email me at if you want to. I am sorry it took me so long to get this out but I have been incredibly busy lately. I am in London studying for the semester and I took a trip this past weekend. I also had a paper due Monday and two exams Tuesday. Please continue to review!

Summary: A young woman and her family are the latest victims of a serial killer. She has a personal connection to two CSIs but which ones are they? Read on and you will eventually find out.

They were now on the way to the hospital. Sara was holding Alexandra's hand as the paramedic took care of her injuries. Alexandra was looking away from Sara and neither one had said a word since they got into the ambulance. "Do you have a nickname that you go by?" Sara asked as she was trying to make small talk and distract Alexandra.

Alexandra looked at Sara and said quietly, "Yeah. People usually call me Alex."

"Can you tell me how old you are?"

"22," Alex answered. The ambulance came to a stop and the paramedic opened the door as they arrived at the hospital. The two paramedics pulled the stretcher out of the ambulance and Sara climbed out along side of them. They wheeled Alexandra through the doors into the emergency room.

"What do you have?" a doctor asked as she approached them.

"Alexandra Miller. 22 year old female. She has numerous contusions and abrasions," the paramedic told the doctor as they headed into a room.

The doctor turned to Sara and asked, "Are you family?"

"No. My name is Sara Sidle and I'm with the Crime Lab. I'm here to gather evidence."

The doctor said, "I need you to stand aside while we make sure Alexandra is stable and then you can get what you need."

"Okay," Sara said as she stepped back. Alex looked at Sara with a panicked look. "Don't worry. I'm not going anywhere. I'll be right here." Alex then seemed to calm down a bit.

About a half hour later Alex's wounds had been cleaned and dressed. "Does she need a rape kit?" the doctor asked.

"Yes," Sara told her.

"Okay. I'll be right back," the doctor said and then left the room.

After the doctor left Sara approached Alex's bed. "How are you holding up?"

"I'm okay I guess."

The doctor then came back into the room. "Alexandra. I am going to examine you now for signs of rape. I am going to take a few swabs and pictures," the doctor said as she explained to Alex what she would be doing. "It will only take a few minutes."

"Can I leave then?" Alex asked.

"I'm sorry but you need to stay here overnight for observation. You should be able to leave tomorrow," the doctor said.

Alex looked at Sara. "It's going to be okay Alex. I can stay here with you for awhile yet."

Awhile later the doctor had finished examining Alex. "Okay now Alex. I'm all done. You can relax now," the doctor told her as she gathered the swabs she took. She then turned to Sara and handed them to her along with the camera she used to take the pictures. A nurse then came into the room and told the doctor an emergency just came in and she was needed. The doctor then left with the nurse.

Alex had pulled the hospital sheet over her as she turned and laid on her left side. Sara then said to her, "I am going to scrape under your finger nails, take some samples from your hair, and take a few more pictures. When I am done you can clean yourself up."

"Okay," was Alex's only response. Sara took her left then right hand and scraped under each fingernail over an envelope. She then brushed a few sections of Alex's hair and used an envelope to collect what fell out. Next Sara picked up her camera and said to Alex, "Can you sit up for a minute and look straight at me?" Alex sat up and did what she asked. Sara took one picture then said, "Can you look to the right?" Sara took another picture. "Now to the left." She then took a third picture. "I'm finished now. You can lie back down if you want to. Do you feel up to telling me what happened tonight?"

"No," was all Alex said as she laid down."

"That's okay for now. I am going to go find a nurse and let them know I am done. I have to bring what I collected back to the lab.

"You're leaving?" Alex asked quietly.

"Yes, but I'll leave my card right here on the table next to the phone and you can call me whenever you want to or when you are ready to talk. I know it may seem difficult right now but talking about what happened will help us catch who did this to you and your parents," Sara told Alex as she placed a hand on Alex's arm. "You're strong. You'll get through this." Sara then left the room without a response from Alex.

Sara found the nurse that had helped to take care of Alex earlier and approached her. "I finished gathering what I needed. I have to take it back to my lab. I didn't get a statement from Alex yet so I will come back later. Here's my card incase Alex tells you she is ready to talk. If I am not back before she is discharged have someone call me before she leaves. I don't want her to leave before she gives her statement."

"All right. I'll put your card and a note on Alex's chart so she won't be discharged before you're contacted," the nurse told her.

"Thank you," Sara said and turned and left the hospital and headed back to the lab.

About twenty minutes later Sara had arrived at the lab and was walking down the hallway and got stopped by Nick. "How did it go at the hospital?"

"As good as can be expected," Sara told him. "Alex was pretty shaken up. She didn't say much. I got the rape kit and other evidence. I brought it back here to get processed."

"Did she say anything about what happened?" Nick asked.

"No. When I asked her about it she said she didn't want to talk. I told a nurse not to let her go before someone is back to get a statement from her."

"We didn't get much at the house. We found a hair with the root still attached in the master bedroom that doesn't match any of our victims but it doesn't mean it's the perp's either."

"I'm going to get this kit to DNA and hopefully it will tell us something." Sara then headed off to the DNA lab but before Sara took two steps Nick called out to her.

"Hey Sara!" Sara turned around to face Nick again. "How about after shift we head to our favorite diner to get some breakfast?"

"Sure. Sounds great," Sara said as she flashed a quick smile at Nick. Sara was glad Nick asked her to go out for breakfast. Besides working an occasional case together they rarely got to spend much time with each other since the team was broken up.

When Sara got to the DNA lab she said to Mia, "Here's Alex's rape kit and the scrapings I took from her hair and under her nails. Let me know as soon as you are done processing it. This may finally break the case."

"Will do," Mia responded. "I'll push it to the front of the line and page you as soon as I am done."

"Thanks," Sara said to Mia. Sara then left the DNA lab and headed towards the break room where everyone else was. Just as she entered the room her cell phone rang. "Sidle," she said as she answered. "What?" Sara exclaimed suddenly a moment later. Everyone in the room turned to look at her. "I thought I told you not to let her leave until someone came to get her statement!" Sara paused for a moment. "Fine. Well thanks for calling." Sara then slammed her phone shut and let out a frustrated sigh as she headed over to the coffee pot to get a much needed dose of caffeine.

"What was that about?" Warrick asked.

"It was the nurse from the hospital. She told me that Alex signed herself out AMA and they just let her go," Sara told everyone in the room.

"If she signed herself out then there was nothing they could do to stop her," Grissom said.

"They should have called me to let me know she wanted to leave. She is our only surviving witness. What if the perp finds her again and kills her. Where will we be then?" Sara questioned to no one in particular. "Back to square one and waiting until the killer strikes again."

"I have something that might help," Mia said as she came into the room and held up a folder. "The hair you found in the Miller's bedroom is a match to the scrapings from under Alex's nails. It looks like Alex got a piece of the perp and it places him in the bedroom."

"That's not going to do us much good if we don't have Alex to give us an id of him," Sara said as she was still angry.

"At least it's a start," Catherine said.

Grissom then spoke, "Shift is over now so why don't we all go home and get some rest and we can take a fresh look at the case tonight."

"Fine," Sara said as she placed her cup of coffee down on the counter and left the room and headed to the locker room. Sara was pulling some cloths and other things out of her locker and harshly shoving them into her bag when Nick came in. Sara seemed to not notice his presence until he spoke.

"You don't have to take it out on your cloths," Nick joked as he tried to lighten the mood since he could tell that Sara was upset.

Sara turned to look at him and glared at him, "I'm not. I just want to get out of here." She wasn't in the mood for joking around.

"Sit down a minute," Nick said as he took Sara's arm and sat down next to her on the bench. He then took Sara's left hand into his right and laced his fingers with her's. They had been best friends for a several years now and Nick could always tell when a case got to her more than it should. "We all are frustrated with this case Sara. I know you don't like being told when to go home but I think Grissom may be right this time. We are all exhausted and some rest will do us all some good. Grissom called Brass and they are going to keep an eye out for Alex. I'm sure she will turn up soon." Nick squeezed Sara's hand reassuringly. He then put his left hand up to her right cheek and turned her face so he was looking into her eyes. "Let's go get that breakfast we talked about earlier."

"Alright," Sara said as she seemed to have calmed down. "But you're buying." Sara gave Nick a small smile as they both stood up and got their bags.

"That's okay with me." Nick put his right arm around Sara's shoulder and they walked out of the building. "I'll drive. After we eat I'll bring you back to get your car." Nick and Sara then got into his Denali and Nick drove them to the diner.

A/N: So there is the second chapter. I hope you liked it. Things are going to start happening more quickly now so please continue to read. Please review and let me know what you thought about it and if you want me to continue with it. I hope to have the next chapter up more quickly next time.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: First I would like to give a special thanks to my wonderful beta, Camilla Sandman. Without your help, this would pretty much suck. Anyway, I am sorry that this took so long. I really had wanted to get it out sooner. Thanks for all of the wonderful reviews and thanks for continuing to read this. This chapter is mostly NS fluff so I hope all of you NS fans out there enjoy it. The next chapter will be back to the main story. Please read and review!

The morning came with blue skies and warm sun. Nick and Sara had just finished breakfast and left the diner, heading towards Nick's car. As they got into the Denali, Sara turned to Nick.

"You don't have to bring me all the way back to the lab to get my car. You can drop me off at my apartment and I'll take a cab to work tonight."

"Are you sure? Because I don't mind taking you back," Nick replied.

"Yeah. It will be easier. Plus I'm really tired and I am sure you are too. I just want to go home."

"Okay then. To your place it is." Smiling slightly, Nick started up the car and drove off. When they reached her building, he pulled into an empty space and put the car into park.

"Thanks for the ride," Sara said as she got out and walked around to the driver's window where Nick leaned his head out.

"You're welcome," he replied.

"Do you want to come up for a bit and watch some TV?" she asked.

"Yeah, all right," he replied, turning of the ignition and getting out of his car. "Did you have anything in mind?"

"No. We can check the TV Guide and see what's on." Sara took out her key and unlocked the door to her apartment, Nick following her in. "It should be right over there on the coffee table. You can pick something out and I'll get us something to drink. Do you want anything?"

"A glass of water would be good," Nick replied from the other room.

"Okay. I'll be right in," Sara told him.

A couple of minutes later Sara walked into the living room and stopped when she saw what he had chosen. "How did I know that you would pick Animal Planet?"

Nick turned to her and smiled, "There was nothing else good on and you can never go wrong with Animal Planet. They always have something interesting on."

Motioning him to make room, she headed over to the couches, glasses in hand. Looking more at the lions on the screen than her footing, she suddenly found herself tripping and falling. The water splashed from the glasses and onto Nick, managing to spray her lightly as well.

Reaching wildly for the falling glasses, Sara instead found herself falling on Nick. With soaked t-shirts, they found themselves face to face, her body pressing his into the couch. For a few seemingly everlasting moments, neither could move or speak, struck by a rush of emotions.

Sara was the first to break the silence. "Oh my God. Nick. I'm so sorry," she said as she pushed herself up off of Nick and sat next to him. She didn't want to break the contact but she didn't want to make Nick uncomfortable or scare him away either. "Look now. Your shirt's all wet."

"Yours is too." Nick let out a small laugh as he gestured towards her. He didn't mean to stare at her but the water had caused her shirt to become practically see through and he could now tell that she was wearing a red bra.

"Oh," Sara said, her cheeks flushed and she crossed her arms to cover herself. "I'm going to go change my shirt. Do you want me to throw yours in the dryer?"

"Don't worry about it," Nick said as he began to unbutton his shirt and took it off. "I will hang it up while you get changed."

Sara was staring at his muscular chest and hesitated before replying. "Okay. I'll be right back," she managed to say and getting up, headed to her bedroom. She hoped he hadn't noticed her staring at him but then she remembered he had stared at her too. Maybe there was a chance Nick felt that same spark of attraction she did. Maybe... Smiling to herself, she picked out a spaghetti strap tang top and light blue shorts to put on.

Meanwhile, Nick was hanging his shirt over the back of a chair and was wondering about the look he had seen in her eyes. She had definitely watched him for a moment. Did she feel something more than friendship between them?

He was still wondering a few minutes later when Sara emerged from her room, towel in hand. She walked over to the couch, stretching it out over the wet spots.

"I see how it is," Nick said, coming up behind her. She turned and he tried on his best fake pout. "You care more about the couch than me."

"No. Of course not," Sara replied as she playfully swat at his arm. "I just don't want to sit on a wet couch."

"You do realize there is still plenty of room left for the both of us to sit down. Come on," he insisted and patted the space next to him as he made himself comfortable.

"Do you want another glass of water?" Sara asked as she obliged and tried not to sit anywhere still wet.

"No. I'm good for now. Besides we don't need a repeat of what just happened or we might not have anywhere left to sit."

"Hey!" Sara exclaimed. "It is not like I did it on purpose, you know."

"Are you saying you didn't mean to soak my shirt so I would have to take it off and sit here topless?" Nick asked, grinning.

"Well, maybe I did and maybe I didn't," Sara replied flirtatiously as she smirked at him. "Why don't you use your great investigation skills, Mr. CSI-who-beat-me-out-of-that-almost-promotion, and figure it out yourself?"

"Are you ever going top let that go?" he asked. "Anyway, let's watch some TV." Lifting his right arm and putting it around Sara's shoulders, he pulled her towards him. She rested her head on his chest as they finally settled down to relax and watch some TV. Not before after they had drifted off to sleep.

A while later Nick stirred. As he woke, he became aware of a soft weight on his chest. Opening his eyes, he saw Sara's cheek resting against his chest, her right arm draped across his body, and her back against the couch. They must have fallen asleep while watching TV. He smiled to himself; she really looked beautiful while she slept. His watch told him they'd only been asleep for a few hours, so he reached for the remote with his free hand and switched the TV off, careful not to disturb her. He settled his arm about her, preparing to go back to sleep, but she woke, and her eyes met his.

"Hey," she whispered quietly.

"Hey," Nick whispered back. Neither one wanted to move. Both had sensed something was different between them. It was definitely a good something but neither one could say exactly what it was.

Sara decided to make a move now while she had the courage to do so.

She moved herself up a bit so her nose was almost touching Nick's. "Nick," she said. "I…" She was cut off by his lips capturing hers in a soft, tender kiss. Apparently he had the same idea as her. It lasted only a moment before she broke the kiss and pulled back so she could see his face, trying to gauge his reaction.

"Sara, you have no idea how long I have wanted to do that," he said a little breathlessly.

"Probably not as long as I have," she replied, smiling at his flustered expression.

"Wanna bet?" he joked, beaming back at her, happy that Sara clearly wanted what was happening as much as he did.

"No thanks," Sara replied, leaning down to kiss Nick again. Their second kiss was more intense than their first; Sara ran her tongue along Nick's upper lip, teasing him until he parted his lips and his mouth was warm against hers. As their tongues tangled, he wrapped his arms tighter around her, pulling her even closer. But still he desired more contact, and without breaking the kiss, he rolled them over and positioned himself on top. She sighed into his mouth, and sliding her hands up to the back of his head, she pulled him down to deepen the kiss even further. They only broke apart when they were both devoid of breath.

"Wow," he said, taking a deep, shuddering breath.

"Yeah. Wow," she echoed. Suddenly remembering they had fallen asleep, she realized she had no idea how long they had drifted off. "What time is it?"

"Almost noon." She could feel his chest rumble as he replied, his weight strangely comfortable on her.

"Do you want to go home so you can get some sleep before work?" Sara asked. She didn't want him to leave but knew he only had four hours before his shift started.

"I'm comfortable right where I am. Besides I have a change of clothes out in my car. And if you don't mind I'll use your bathroom to change and wash-up before I go in."

"Of course you can, Nick. You know you don't have to ask," Sara said, yawning. "But I'm ready to pass out."

"I'm still tired too. I could go for a few more hours of sleep. I'll stay out here on the couch if you want to go to your room," Nick said, silently hoping she wanted to stay right there with him. It felt warm and comfortable with her so close, but he didn't want her to feel rushed or pressured.

"You know, my bed is big enough for two," she said, but realizing how that sounded she quickly amended it. "For sleeping, I mean."

"Don't worry Sara," Nick replied, reading her facial expression. "I don't want to push you into doing anything you're not ready for. How about we take things nice and slow and let things happen when we're ready?"

"That sounds like a good plan to me," she said, smiling at him. They both got up and hand in hand headed towards Sara's bedroom. Sara set her alarm clock before they crawled into bed and snuggled up to each other, each feeling content with being in the other's arms. They quickly drifted off to sleep.

The alarm did its job waking them a few hours later and Sara reached over to turn it off. When she rolled back over to face Nick, he was looking back at her smiling.

"Did you sleep all right?" she asked.

"Of course I did. How could I not? I was in the same bed as the most beautiful woman I know." He had wanted to say with the woman he loved but he knew it was too soon to say that. He wanted to wait for the perfect moment to let her know how much he really loved and wanted to be with her. "How about you?"

"I slept great. The best sleep I've had in as long as I can remember," Sara told him. "You have to get up now. You only have 45 minutes before you have to be at the lab."

"I guess you're right," Nick replied. "I don't want to be late. But I think I have time for a few more kisses before I go."

"Oh, you do. I wouldn't let you go without them," Sara told him and moved up to kiss him. His lips were soft on hers, but she sternly reminded herself he couldn't stay. "You really need to get up now. I'll make you a cup of coffee while you get ready."

She tried to get up, but found herself unable to as he pulled her back down. "Nick…" she admonished, as his kiss stopped her mouth.

Breaking the kiss was hard. "I just need one more," he breathed against her cheek. Finally, they did get out of bed; Nick headed out to get his clothes and proceed to the bathroom while Sara went to the kitchen.

He came in ten minutes later, finding Sara standing by the counter with her back to him, the smell of coffee in the air. He walked up to her and snaked his arms around her waist. "Smells good."

She smiled as she turned. "It's not quite as good as Greg's Blue Hawaiian but it's the best I have been able to find."

"Thanks. I better get going," he replied, giving her a quick kiss before reaching for the mug of coffee.

Coffee in hand, he headed for the door with Sara in tow.

"Um, Nick?"

"Yeah?"

"What are we going to tell everyone at work… you know… about us?"

"Whatever you want to tell them."

"Do you mind if we keep it to ourselves for a while? I want to see where this is going before we tell anyone."

"That's fine," he replied, leaning back in to give her one last kiss. "I'll see you later."

"Okay. Let me know if there's anything new on the case or if there's any news about where Alex is."

"I'll give you a call if I find out anything. Bye!" he called as he headed towards where his car was parked.

"Bye!" she replied, and he could see her look after him as he drove away.

Traffic was light and he managed to reach the lab in good time. Car parked, he headed into the building and saw Warrick just ahead.

"Warrick!"

"Hey, Nick. What's the smile for?" Warrick asked as he noticed the smirk on Nick's face. "Look's like someone had a good night. What's her name?"

"Who said anything about a girl?"

"Come on, man. I know that look."

"Well, nothing happened and I'm not telling you her name."

"So there was someone then. I knew it!"

"You know nothing."

The friendly banter continued back and forth until they had got off the elevator and were walking down the hallway.

Warrick was the first one to notice the girl sitting in one of the chair's in the hallway. "I wonder who that is."

"Alex?" Nick asked. She looked familiar and he approached carefully. When she lifted her head to look at them, Nick saw that it was indeed Alex.

She hardly looked the same. The last time he had seen her had been at the crime scene when she was covered in dirt and blood. She was now wearing a dark blue UNLV hooded sweatshirt, jeans, and sneakers. Her hair hung down straight, several inches past her shoulders. Besides the few scrapes on her face, she looked unharmed.

Warrick leaned over and whispered to Nick, "Man, if I didn't know any better I would say that she looks just like…"

A/N: Sorry for the cliff hanger. I know how much they can drive people nuts but I thought it was a good place to end the chapter. Hope fully I will have the next chapter written and posted shortly.


	4. Chapter 4

Thanks again to my wonderful beta, Camilla Sandman.

A/N: Yay! I got a new chapter up in less than a week. Thank you so much to all of those who have reviewed. I love getting reviews because it makes me happy to know people are actually reading this. Please continue to read and review!

* * *

Warrick leaned over and whispered to Nick, "That's Alex? Man, if I didn't know any better I would say that she looks just like Catherine, only younger."

"I know what you mean," Nick whispered back. When Alex spoke, he quickly turned his attention to her.

"Hi," Alex replied quietly as she stood up with her hands in her pockets and looked at Nick and Warrick. "Um, I'm sorry about leaving the hospital like that, but I couldn't stand it there any longer." She looked down at her feet, unsure of what to say next. She looked awkward and Nick quickly tried to reassure her.

"Well, we're glad you came in," he told her sincerely. He turned and gestured to Warrick. "This is my colleague Warrick Brown."

"Is Sara here?" Alex asked, looking back up at them.

"No. Sorry, she's not here. She works night shift and she won't be in until around midnight," Nick said.

"Okay. Can you tell her I came in?" Alex asked. She pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket and handed it to Nick. "Here's a number she can reach me at. Since she's not here, I'm going to leave. Let her know I'm sorry about the hospital. She left her card for me to call her before I left but I had to get out of there. Hospitals creep me out."

Some papers she was clutching drew Nick's attention. "What's that you have there?"

"Oh. It's just something I was going to show Sara," she muttered awkwardly.

"We're all working your case, Alex. So if you want you can show it to me," Nick replied gently, trying to put her at ease as much as he could.

"All right."

"Why don't we go somewhere more private," he suggested, and she followed his lead into the break room, Warrick remaining behind. "You can sit anywhere you like."

"Thanks, but I'm okay standing."

"So what did you want to show Sara?"

"Um…Well…" Alex started, a bit hesitant. "It's a sketch I made." Shyly, she handed him a piece of paper with a drawing of a man's face on it.

"This is really well done, Alex. Who is it?" he asked, even if he had a pretty good idea of who it was. He still wanted Alex to confirm it.

"It's…It's the man who killed my mom and dad and attacked me," Alex said quietly, averting her eyes, looking everywhere but at Nick.

"I'm sorry, Alex. This must have been really hard for you to do, but it will help us a lot with finding out who hurt you," he assured her. He could see that she was getting upset so he tried to lighten the mood and change the subject. "Do you go to an art school?"

"No. Sketching has always been sort of a hobby to me," she replied. Looking up and through the glass, she noticed Catherine walking down the hall. Alex leaned against a nearby counter to stop herself from falling over and fainting from the shock.

Nick noticed Alex's pale face and went over to her, concerned. "Are you okay, Alex?"

"Yeah. I'm just tired. I'll be fine in a minute if I can just sit down."

"Of course. You can sit right here," Nick told her as he guided her to a couch. "Do you want anything to drink?"

Wordlessly, she shook her head.

"If you're sure you're alright, I'm just going to go talk to my boss for a moment," Nick went on as he looked up and saw Catherine talking to Warrick out in the hallway.

"Yeah. I'm fine," Alex replied, hoping to avoid questions about her dizzy spell.

"I'll be back in a bit to check on you."

"Okay. I just need to sit here for a few minutes and then I will be fine to go," she assured him as brightly as she could.

'Don't worry about it. Stay for as long as you need to," he replied and walked out of the room, heading over to Warrick and Catherine.

Warrick turned to Nick. "I was just telling Cath that Alex is here and she brought something to show Sara. What was it?"

"It's this," Nick said as he held up the sketch and handed it to Catherine. "She said it is the guy who attacked her and her family."

"Did she draw that?" Catherine asked, impressed with the quality of the drawing.

"Yeah," Nick answered.

"Even if I could draw that good I don't think I would be able to do it so soon after going through what she did, "Warrick commented as he looked at the sketch over Catherine's shoulder.

"At least now we have a face to our perp, if not a name," Catherine replied. "How is Alex doing?"

"All right, I guess, as much as you can be after something like that. She didn't really say much. I wanted to ask her a few more questions but she looked ready to faint all of a sudden. She told me she felt fine, just needed to sit down for a few minutes. She's still in the break room." Nick explained before turning to Warrick. "Did you tell her about who Alex looks like?"

"No," Warrick answered. "Not yet."

"So, who does she look like?" Catherine asked impatiently.

"Well, I didn't notice the similarity until today. When I saw her at the crime scene she was covered in dirt and blood. She's..." Nick pausing, giving Warrick a look, feeling Warrick would be the better one to break it to Catherine.

"Cath, we think she looks just like you," Warrick finished.

"What?" Catherine gave them both a disbelieving look.

"Yeah, Cath. If I didn't know any better, I'd say she was you when you were 22," Nick said.

"You're kidding, right?" Catherine asked, not sure if they were telling her the truth.

"Not at all. She's the spitting image of you," Warrick replied.

"It must be a coincidence. That's all," Catherine said quickly, trying to hide the worry in her voice.

"Yeah. It's not like she's could be your daughter or anything," Nick teased. "You haven't been keeping any secrets from us? Right Cath?"

"Okay then," Catherine said, trying to change the subject and avoid answering Nick's question. "I'm going to bring the sketch to Brass. You two can go see how Alex is and see if she is up for giving a statement." She slipped away without further comment, but Nick noticed she looked slightly uncomfortable.

"I'm going to call Sara and let her know Alex is here. She wanted me to call her if we found out anything about Alex." Nick turned to Warrick, who nodded.

"You do that. I will go ask Alex if she's ready to give a statement."

"Yeah, all right," Nick replied. Waiting to the other CSI was out of earshot, he flipped open his phone, dialing Sara's number. She sounded slightly tired as she answered.

"Sidle."

"Hey Sara. It's me - Nick."

"Oh, hey. What's up?"

"I wanted to let you know that Alex is here."

"Where did they find her?"

"No one found her. She just showed up and was asking for you."

"Is she all right?"

"Physically she looks fine. Emotionally, I have no idea. I haven't gotten to talk to her much yet. Warrick went to see if she's ready to make a statement. She brought in a sketch she made of the perp."

"She did?"

"Yeah. It's really good too." Warrick came out into the hallway and motioned to get Nick's attention. "Hold on a minute. Warrick needs me."

Putting his phone down for a second he asked, "Is Alex ready to talk?"

"I don't know. She was asleep when I went in there," Warrick replied.

"Okay. I'll let Sara know," Nick said, putting the phone back up to his ear.

"Let me know what?" Sara asked, having overheard the last bit.

"Alex is sleeping," Nick told her. "Oh, and there's one other thing, I wanted to tell you. Alex looks like a twenty-two year old version of Catherine."

Sara made a slight exclamation. "I knew she reminded me of someone when I left the hospital, but I couldn't quite figure out who."

"I was teasing Catherine about it, asking her if she had been keeping a secret from us. She never really gave me and answer. She just changed the subject and I let it go."

"Nick I wouldn't read anything into it. She was probably a little weirded out, that's all. Do you remember that case last year when that doctor killed that nurse? Everyone was telling me she looked just like me. It freaked me out a bit but not for long."

"Yeah, I remember."

"Did you call Brass and let him know about the sketch?" Sara asked.

"Catherine took it and is bringing it to him now. Hopefully they'll catch the guy soon so we can put this case to rest."

"Yeah. I'm going to come in early tonight. If Alex wakes up before I get there call me, and I'll be right there."

"Sure. Unless we get another case, I'll be here catching up on some paper work. Maybe we can sneak off into the supply closet and…"

"Nick!" Sara exclaimed, interrupting him as she knew exactly what he was thinking of.

"Hey, it was just an idea."

"Let's see how Alex is doing first and get through our shifts. If everything is fine at the end of my shift, maybe we can spend another night together."

"You promise?" Nick asked, unable to keep some excitement from his voice. The though of another night in the same bed as Sara made him almost forget his surroundings for a moment and he looked around quickly. No one was nearby to notice, luckily.

"I said we'll see," she replied, but he could almost feel her smile through the phone.

"All right, but if we do, then you can come over to my place this time."

"Sounds good to me," Sara said. "Bye, Nick. I'll see you in a few hours."

"Bye, Sara." Nick flipped his phone shut and went to check on Alex. He found her in the break room still, but asleep now. Asleep, she looked almost peaceful and he didn't want to wake her to the troubles of her life. He left the break room and closed the door behind him, keeping the noise from the rest of the lab from disturbing her.

When he glanced up a while later, Catherine was returning, presumably from bringing the sketch to Brass. She was striding purposely into her office with Warrick close behind. Nick decided to check if Catherine had anything else for him to do. Paperwork wasn't exactly the most exciting thing he knew of. Her office door was open as he walked over, but he knocked first nevertheless. He found Warrick sitting in a chair and Catherine behind the desk, both looking up at him as he entered.

"Hey Nick," Catherine started. "I was just telling Warrick that I brought the sketch to PD and Brass said he would get it circulating. Hopefully we'll match it to a name soon. How is Alex?"

"I don't know. She's still asleep," Nick said, leaning against the door frame.

Catherine phone rang and she answered it, "Willows…Uh huh…Okay…Someone will be right over." She flipped her phone shut and looked at Nick and Warrick. "B&E over on Henderson. It seems pretty simple so I only need one of you to go."

"I'll take it," Warrick said and got up. "You better stay, Nick, so you'll be here when Alex wakes up. She seems more comfortable around you."

"Sure," Nick replied. Catherine gave Warrick the address and with that, the other man left. Nick took the chance to clear the air. "I'm sorry about before, teasing you about your past. I hope I didn't offend you."

"Don't worry about it Nick, I'm a big girl. I can take a joke."

"You sure are," Nick replied, smiling. "I'm going to get back to that paperwork."

"Try not to have too much fun," Catherine said, returning the smile with a slight smirk of her own.

"Oh, don't worry. I won't."

An hour later Nick headed to the break room to get a cup of coffee. He saw that Alex was now awake. She was sitting and looking through her backpack. "Hi Alex. How are you feeling?"

She jumped slightly, startled by his presence. "Better I guess. How long was I asleep?"

"Almost six hours," Nick said, sitting down across from her. "Do you think you can give a statement about what happened last night?"

"Um…" Alex said quietly, looking down at her hands resting in her lap. "I don't know."

"Would you feel more comfortable talking to Sara?" Nick asked.

"Yeah," she said, still not looking up.

"Her shift starts soon so she should be here shortly. I'll give her a call and see how long she will be. I'll be right back," he told her as he got up and left the room. A few minutes later he came back. "She's on her way here now. She should be here in about twenty minutes."

"Okay," Alex replied, finally looking up. Her glance fell on Greg, coming their way.

"Is everything all right Alex?" Nick asked noticing the look of confusion that crossed her face.

"Yeah, um…Is that Greg Sanders?" she asked, eyes still fixed on Greg.

"Yes, it is. Do you know him?"

Greg was entering the room, but noticed the two of them looking at him and halted slightly. Alex stood up and said, "Greg?"

"Alexandra?" Greg asked, recognition flashing across his face. "Is that you?"

* * *

A/N: Ha ha. Another cliffhanger. I'm sorry if this chapter seemed to drag a bit. The next chapter will definitely have a lot more happening in it. It should be up soon so keep an eye out for it. Thanks again for the reviews! 


	5. Chapter 5

Thanks to my wonderful beta, Camilla Sandman.

A/N: I'm so sorry this took so long to get out. I am in London for the semester and a couple of weeks ago my parents came over here to visit and for my cousins wedding. I was away for the weekend for the wedding and then my parents stayed for the rest of the week. Then two days after they left, I left for Spain for a week for my spring break. So between writers block, trying to squeeze in a ton of school work while my parents were here, and then going away for a week, it has been difficult to get another chapter out. Thanks so much for continuing to read and review. I can't tell you how much I appreciate the reviews.

* * *

"Yeah, um… Is that Greg Sanders?" she asked, eyes still fixed on Greg.

"Yes, it is. Do you know him?"

Greg was entering the room and noticed the two of them looking at him and halted slightly. Alex stood up and said, "Greg?"

"Alexandra?" Greg asked, a look of recognition flashing across his face. "Is that you?"

"Yeah, it's me," Alex replied, barely able to hold her composure any longer.

"Oh my God. Come here," Greg said and opened his arms.

Alex took a few steps to close the distance between them. She wrapped her arms around him and he returned the gesture. They stayed in each others arms for a moment, with neither saying a word. Alex still couldn't believe her eyes and it seemed Greg couldn't either, from the look of his face when they pulled apart slightly.

"I can't tell you how happy I am to see you. What are you doing here?"

"I work here," Greg replied.

"Really?" she asked, taking in Greg from head to toe to make sure he wasn't a hallucination.

"Yeah. I used to work in the DNA lab, but now I am a CSI," Greg replied.

It wasn't until Nick coughed Alex realized the other CSI was still there.

"Can you guys fill me in here?" he asked.

"Oh, sorry Nick," Greg answered as he separated from Alex and stood next to her, leaving his right arm at her waist. "Alex and I go a long way back. It's got to be almost twelve years since I saw her. Isn't that right Alex?"

"Yup," she said quietly.

"So you grew up together then?" Nick asked.

"We met when I was one year old," she replied, pausing for a moment to remember. "My family had moved in next door."

"My younger sister Emily and Alex were best friends. Their birthdays are only a few days apart so they always had joint birthday parties," Greg explained.

"How is Emily?" Alex asked.

"She's doing well. She just finished her third year at Cornell. I have to call her and tell her you're here," Greg said, all smiles.

"That would be great. I haven't talked to her since that night," Alex said, looking down. All of the memories from the last time she saw Emily and Greg seemed to assault her. Combined with all she'd been going through lately, so much pain seemed to overwhelm her at once. She had to struggle to hold back the tears that were threatening to fall from her eyes.

Greg must have picked up on her troubles, for his face softened. "Alex, I'm sorry about bringing up that night. I can't imagine what you have gone through since then. Emily and I asked our parents almost every day to try to find out where you went. Last I heard was that you were living with your aunt here in Vegas and then you weren't." He pulled Alex towards him and protectively wrapped his arms around her.

"I…I," Alex started, her voice shaking. She couldn't hold the tears back any longer and her eyes stung. Her body was trembling as she cried against Greg's shoulder.

"Hey. It's going to be okay now. I'm here for you," Greg said, rubbing her back.

Distantly she could hear Nick's voice. "I'm going to go out in the hall and wait for Sara. She should be here any minute now. Let me know if you two need anything."

"I will," Greg replied and then there was just the two of them.

For a few minutes Greg just stood there, holding her until she nearly stopped crying. When she felt somewhat in control of herself again, she looked up at him and sniffled, while reaching to wipe her eyes. "I'm sorry, Greg."

"What for?"

"For breaking down like this and getting your shirt wet. I didn't mean to lose it like that."

"Don't worry about it. You have nothing to be sorry for. With all that has happened I would be more worried if you weren't upset. Why don't we sit down and talk for a bit?"

"All right," she replied.

"Are you hungry or thirsty or anything?"

"No, not really," Alex said, she sat down on the couch.

"Are you sure? You probably haven't eaten anything in a while. There's always something to eat around here."

"I guess I could go for a snack or something light."

"How about some pretzels?" Greg asked as he held up a bag that was lying on the counter.

"Sure," she replied, reaching for the bag as he sat down next to her. "Are you working on my case too?"

"I am. When I first found out that the Millers had a daughter named Alexandra, I never thought that you would be that Alex."

"I can't believe it's been almost twelve years since I've seen you and Emily. Was she mad when I left?"

"She was really upset. Our parents tried to explain to her what happened but you guys were only ten, so they didn't want to give her too many details. I was fifteen and they still didn't tell me much. I only found out more of the real story years later after letters Emily and I sent to you were returned with a note from your aunt saying you didn't live with her anymore. All I was able to find out was that you were sent away to a foster home somewhere because your aunt couldn't take care of you any longer."

"I tried to contact you guys too, but my aunt wouldn't let me call long distance. I begged her but she said it was too expensive," Alex said, nibbling on the pretzel she was holding. To her surprise, she found she was hungry after all.

"I was never able to discover where you were or find a phone number to call you at either," he said sadly, lifting his arm and putting it over her shoulders. He gave her a gentle squeeze. "I'm so sorry I was never able to contact you."

"It's not your fault," Alex replied, looking down and placing her hands in her lap. It was easier than to meet all the compassion in his eyes. "It was the stupid foster care system's fault. I hated my social worker. The only time she would talk to me was to tell me she was taking me to another home. Whenever I asked her to help me find you, she just brushed me off and never answered me. When I moved in with the Millers I changed my last name from Kessler to Miller. That probably made it even harder for you to find me but at that point I didn't think you guys cared about me anymore so I didn't think it would matter."

"We never stopped thinking about you. This past November when we were having Emily's birthday dinner we had talked about hiring someone to find you."

"Really?" she asked, looking up at Greg in surprise.

"Yes. We never stopped thinking about you," he paused, reaching up to tuck a stray hair behind her left ear. "And don't you ever doubt that."

"I won't," she said, unable to keep a slight tremble out of her voice. She could feel tears burn on her cheek and Greg reached up to wipe them away. "I thought I was all cried out."

"Don't worry about it," he told her, pulling her against him. Her body began to shake again as she gave up on control and let her emotions take over. "I'm here for you. If you need anything, all you have to do is ask."

"Hold me," she managed to whisper, her voice raw even to her ears. She could feel him do just that as she lost herself in the abyss of her mind where all the pain seemed to scream at her.

* * *

A/N: I hope you all liked this chapter. I got this one done and another one while I was in Spain. I just have to type the other up so that one will be up shortly. You will find out what happened "that night" in the next chapter. Please review and thanks again to those who already have! I love reading them. 


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: I'm sorry to repost this but something weird happened when I posted it the first time.  I don't know what happened.  Sorry that it got messed up.  If you notice any weird punctuation, it's nothing I did.  It happened when I posted it.  I hope this time it doesn't happen.

 Once Alex's tears finally subsided, she sat up straight and said, "Now both of your shoulders are wet, thanks to me."

"Don't worry about it.  I have a change of cloths in my locker," Greg replied.

"I must look like a mess," she said, running her hand through her hair.  Her eyes felt sore and swollen and her cheeks still burned.  She could only imagine what a wreck she looked like.

"You look pretty good for what you've been through."

"Thanks, I guess."

"Why don't you come with me and I'll show you where the bathroom is so you can freshen up," he said, standing up and holding out a hand to her.

"All right," Alex replied, taking Greg's hand and pulling herself up while picking up her bag.  "Nick told me that Sara will be here soon.  I told him I would give my statement once she got here.  She'll probably be here soon, if she's not already here."

They left the room and were walking down the hall when Nick and Sara came around the corner.

"Hi Alex.  Nick was just telling me that you know Greg," Sara said.  "How are you doing?"

"As good as I can be.  Greg was showing me where the bathroom was because I wanted to wash up before I give my statement," Alex explained.

"Sure," Sara replied.

"The bathroom is right over there," Greg said, pointing towards the bathroom door.  "I'm going to change my shirt and then we can meet back out here when you're done."

"I'll just be a few minutes," Alex said before turning and walking away from them, disappearing into the bathroom. Greg went to the locker room and came back out a minute later, shirt changed.

Nick turned to the approaching Greg and asked, "I didn't want to ask in front of Alex because it had upset her when she mentioned it earlier, but I was wondering what happened on the night you were talking about?"

"I was wondering too," Sara added.  "Nick told me that you two haven't seen each other in nearly twelve years.  Of course you don't have to tell us if you don't think Alex would want us to know."

"I am pretty sure she wouldn't mind.  She seems comfortable around you two.  As you witnessed, Nick, whenever it comes up, it's hard for her to even think about it, let alone talk about it," Greg replied.  "June 27th will be twelve years since it happened."

"And you haven't seen each other since?" Nick asked.

"That's right. I can't believe it's been that long. Time has gone by so quickly," Greg said, for a moment looking lost in thought. "Anyway, that night Alex was over at my house since her parents went out for the night. We'd finished dinner a couple of hours before and Alex and my sister Emily were playing in her room when two police officers came to our house. My parents told me to go into the other room. I did, but I didn't go far because I wanted to hear what they were talking about. I overheard the officers telling my parents that Alex's mom and dad, the Kesslers, had been in a car accident. A drunk driver had hit them on their way home and they had died at the scene."

"Oh my God.  That's terrible!" Sara exclaimed.  "How did Alex take it?"

"I never really knew," Greg replied. "Alex ended up spending the night with us. In the morning my parents brought Alex, Emily, and me into the living room after breakfast and told us what happened. Alex and Emily were ten at the time so my parents didn't give us too many details. Alex ran into the bathroom crying, I remember... She locked the door and wouldn't come out for nearly an hour. After she came out, she wouldn't say a word. My parents took her over to her house to pack up some of her stuff. They told us later that day someone would be coming to bring her to her aunt's house here in Vegas. After Alex left that day we never heard from her again. Emily took it really hard too. About a month later, she seemed to be getting better but when her birthday came around in November that year, she refused to have a party or celebrate it in any way. She said she didn't want to celebrate since Alex wasn't there. She said it wouldn't be the same without her. They had celebrated their birthdays together since the Kesslers moved in next door."

"So Alex's last name was Kessler?" Nick asked.

"Her name was Alexandra Kessler," Greg told them.  "I just found out today that she changed her last name to Miller a while after she moved in with them."

"What did you just say her last name was?" Catherine asked, approaching from further down the hall, clearly having overheard parts of the conversation.

"Kessler," Greg replied.  "Why?  Did you know the Kesslers?"

"Um, I think I might have," Catherine replied, pausing for a moment, seeming to process the information. "It was a long time ago. I didn't know them too well and the last time I heard from them was over twenty years ago. I just remembered I have to make a phone call. I'll be in my office. Let me know how things went after you get Alex's statement."

"Cath, are you all right?"  Nick asked.  "You look like you just saw a ghost."

"I'm fine," Catherine said before hastily retreating into her office and closing the door, leaving the others to look perplexed at each other.

"That was strange," Sara said, shaking her head slightly.

"I know.  I wonder what that was all about," Nick muttered.  Greg shrugged.

"You wonder what what was all about?" Warrick asked, walking up to where Nick, Sara, and Greg were standing.

"Cath freaked out when I told her that Alex's last name used to be Kessler," Greg replied.  "Then she made up something about having to make a phone call and went into her office."

"I'll go check on her and see if she's all right," Warrick said after a moment's silence. He turned abruptly and headed towards Catherine's office.

Sara gave a slight shrug as she turned to Nick, who looked slightly confused at it all. "I guess if anyone can talk to her, it's Warrick."

"Yeah."

The sound of a door opening tore their attention away from Catherine's office, and they turned to see Alex came out of the bathroom. She looked less stricken now, and she gave a weak smile.

"Do you think you can give your statement now?" Greg asked gently.

"Yeah.  I'd rather do it now and get it over with," Alex replied.

"Let's go to the break room then.  You'll be more comfortable in there," Sara said and led the way.

As they were about to enter the break room, Greg saw that Grissom was in his office.  "You guys go ahead.  I'm going to let Grissom know what's going on," Greg told them.

"I want you to come with me," Alex said, a plea in her voice.

"I'll be right there.  Nick and Sara can set everything up and I will be back before you're ready to start," Greg said, reassuringly.

He disappeared with a light wave, and Nick guided Alex into the room, gesturing to the couch.

"Alex, you can sit and wait on the couch if you want to. It's going to take us a little time to get set up."

Alex obediently went to sit on the couch, and Sara turned to Nick and said, "I'll call Brass and let him know Alex is ready to give her statement. He'll probably want to be here."

Meanwhile in Catherine's office, Warrick had knocked on the door and Catherine called out, "Come in."

He entered cautiously, and noticed at once that Catherine was sitting at her desk with her back towards him. "Hey Cath. Are you all right?"

"Yes. I'm fine," Catherine snapped, standing up to face Warrick. Her face softened slightly as he looked at her. "I'm sorry, Warrick. That came out harsher than I meant."

"Are you sure?  You don't sound fine to me."

"Yes.  I'm fine," Catherine snapped, standing up to face Warrick.  "I'm sorry Warrick.  I didn't mean for that to come out like that."

Warrick walked over and leaned against the edge of her desk so he was now face to face with her.  He reached up with his right hand and ran it up and down her arm.  "Don't worry about it, Cath.  It's all right."

"Thanks," she replied and closed her eyes to his touch. Her face seemed oddly frozen and he knew something was wrong as surely as he knew her.

"Hey now.  Are you going to tell me what's bothering you?"

"I'm fine, really." 

"Cath, I know you. It's obvious you're not fine. Why don't you tell me what's wrong? You know you can trust me, right?" Warrick asked, putting his hand under her chin and making her look him in the eyes.

"I know. I do trust you, Warrick. More than anyone else. You've always been there for me when I needed a shoulder to cry on," she said, looking into his blue eyes without flinching or hesitating.

"Then tell me what's wrong," he pleaded.

"I never told anyone. No one knows," she almost whispered, looking down, breaking eye contact.

"What is it?  Come on, tell me."

"It's Alex.  I'm pretty sure she's… she's…"

"She's what, Cath?"

"I think she's my daughter."

A/N:  I hope you liked the chapter.  Please review so I know what you think about it.  Thanks to my beta Camilla Sandman and those who continue to read and review this.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: I am really sorry that it has been so long since I have updated. I have been crazy busy with school work. I had four papers due in the past two weeks and have only been able to work on them during the week since I have gone away on the weekends. I wanted to say thanks so much to all of those who are still reading and reviewing this. I can't believe I have 59 reviews! I love reading them. The next chapter should be up shortly since I have no more papers to write. It will have more NS in it. I only have a few tests left and then I will have even more time to write. Also a special thanks to my beta, Camilla Sandman.

* * *

"What did you just say?" Warrick asked, not believing what he just heard.

"I think she's my daughter," Catherine repeated, still looking down at the floor stretching out between them.

"Wait a minute. I don't understand. What do you mean, she's your daughter? I thought Lindsey was your only child."

Catherine raised her eyes to meet Warrick's gaze. "I know. I'm sorry. I should have said something, especially to you. But like I said, I never told anyone. It was too painful to talk about."

"You can tell me now. Nothing you say can make me think any differently about you," he said reassuringly.

She couldn't hold it back any longer and it all spilled out in a flow of words. "I was only eighteen when I got pregnant. I was scared out of my mind when I found out. I was barely able to support myself, let alone a baby. I knew I wouldn't be able to take care of a baby, but I didn't feel right about having an abortion. So I decided to give her up for adoption. It was the hardest decision I ever had to make, but I knew I had to give her up." She trailed off, breath ragged and tears bright. Leaning blindly against him, she let Warrick take her into his arms.

"Hey now. Everything's going to be all right. I'm here for you now," he whispered into her ear while rubbing her back.

A few minutes later as her tears were subsiding she spoke without lifting her head, "Thanks War."

"It's not a problem. Don't worry about it," he replied. "Now why don't we go sit down and you can tell me why you think Alex is your daughter."

She followed him over to the couch and sat next to him as he put his arm around her. "Was it what Greg told you about her?" he asked, trying ease more information out of her.

"I'd overheard Greg telling Nick and Sara that Alex's last name was Kessler before she changed it to Miller. When you and Nick first told me that she looked like me, I thought it was just a coincidence. But when I found out her last name was Kessler, I realized that she might be my Alex and I just couldn't believe it."

"If I'd known about her, I wouldn't have joked about it before, and I'm sure Nick wouldn't have either. I'm sorry, Cath."

"Don't be," she replied. "You had no way of knowing."

"So I'm assuming that the family that adopted your daughter was the Kesslers?" he asked.

"You're right," she told him, bracing herself to live through the story again. "It was shortly after my nineteenth birthday that I went to the adoption agency. It was May, I remember, a clear blue sky of spring and I was three months pregnant. That day, as I walked though the doors of the agency, I knew I was doing the right thing for my baby, but it was still almost impossible to go in. They'd given me some books to look through, listing couples who were waiting to adopt a baby. When I saw the Kesslers' profile, they seemed like the perfect people to give my baby to. I finally got the nerve to call them when I was about four months pregnant and just beginning to show. They were so happy when I told them they were my choice. They were so kind to me, Warrick. They came to all of my doctor's appointments and were there for the birth. On November 10th I had a beutiful and healthy baby girl. She weighed eight pounds three ounces and was the most precious thing I'd ever seen."

"I'm sorry. You must have been so strong to go through that," he said as she took a deep breath, giving her shoulder a squeeze.

"It was tough. I was lucky in one way because I was only in labor for about twelve hours and there were no complications. After I had given birth, they handed me the baby and told me it was a girl. When I lifted her up and held her in my arms, I was so overwhelmed I burst into tears. I don't think I stopped crying for days afterwards. The Kesslers told me they wanted me to name her and I chose Alexandra. A few weeks later, when the adoption was final, they sent me a letter with some pictures of her. They even told me they'd settled on Catherine as her middle name. They sent the letter along with my copy of the adoption papers. Every time I looked at the paper that said my baby girl was now Alexandra Catherine Kessler, I cried," she said, staring beyond him and into her memories. "I cried every time I saw someone pushing a baby carriage. I cried whenever I passed a baby store. I … I …"

Not sure of what to say, Warrick wrapped his arms around her and merely held her. "Did you stay in contact with the Kesslers?"

"For about six months I did," she said quietly, pulling back slightly, but not moving out of his embrace. "Every month or so they would send a short letter telling me how she was doing along with new pictures. It was just becoming too painful for me to read about her, see the pictures... They left me feeling almost half dead, as if I'd lost a part of myself. So I wrote them back, asking them to stop writing. It was a hard choice to make, but I knew I couldn't keep going on like that."

"And you heard nothing from them after that?"

"No. I didn't hear anything about them after that. Until today when I overheard Greg," she replied, slipping out of his embrace. "I don't know what to do now."

"My first suggestion is that you make sure she's your daughter. You shouldn't make any decision else before you're absolutely sure."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. It could just be one big coincidence. I shouldn't mess up my life before I know, huh?"

"Definitely not," he said with a slight smile. "Hey listen, Nick, Sara, and Greg are in the break room with Alex, getting her statement. Anything you want from there? I can get it, so you don't have to face anyone just yet."

"A coffee would be great."

"One cream and two sugars as usual?" he asked, getting up from the couch.

"Yeah," she replied, standing up next to him. When he started to walk away she called out to him, "Hey, Warrick? Thanks again for being there for me. I don't know what I'd do without you."

"No problem. What's friends for? You don't have to keep thanking me," he told her sincerely, giving her a quick hug. When he pulled back, she held on, her body warm next to his. Her expression was impossible to read as he looked down at her face, her hair falling against his chest. "What's wrong?"

She met his gaze, unable to put into words what she was currently thinking and feeling. She'd feelings for him for awhile now that were definitely more than friendly and at that moment, him so close, it all seemed to overwhelm her. She'd always hoped he felt some of the same, but without really knowing, she'd been afraid to act on them and possibly lose him as a friend.

She didn't have to wonder for long. Before she could say anything, he lowered his head and kissed her. It was a tender but short kiss, his lips lingering on hers ever so softly for a mere moment.

Warrick pulled back and looked down at Catherine, waiting for a response. When she didn't say anything right away he said, "I'm sorry, Cath. I shouldn't have done that." He took a step back, but once again she wouldn't let him go.

"Don't be. I'm not," she replied, a slight smile forming on her lips.

"You're not?"

"Nope," was all she said before sliding her hands up behind his neck, pulling his head down to hers. As their lips met more forcefully this time, a small moan escaped from her lips. He slid his hands under her shirt and up her back, pulling her closer, deepening the kiss.

Neither one was able to say anything for a couple of minutes, their tongues busy tangling while hands roamed freely. It wasn't until after their liplock was broken and they were both gasping for breath that the silence was broken by Warrick.

"That was amazing. Better than I ever dreamed it would be."

"It was definitely great," she replied. She suddenly pulled back out of his arms and leaned against the wall. "But we can't do that anymore."

Why? I thought you wanted…" he started, looking confused and a little hurt.

Before he could finish she interrupted him, "I mean we can't do that anymore here, in my office. Anyone could walk in on us at any moment."

A look of relief flashed across his face, "Good. For a second there you had me worried that I miss understood you and you didn't like it."

"Oh, I definitely liked it and want to do it again, but I'd prefer somewhere else. Somewhere we have more privacy, for one thing. And right now I need to focus on finding out if Alex really is my daughter," she said, getting behind her desk.

"All right," he replied, walking towards the door. "I'll go get you that coffee I promised."

Before Warrick left the room, Catherine called out to him causing him to turn around. "So, Warrick... You dream of kissing me?"

"Oh yeah, but in my dreams we have done a lot more than just kissing," he told her before turning and leaving, leaving Catherine to smile at his retreating back.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Sorry again for not updating that quickly. Thanks to all of those who have continued to read and review this. Reviews make me so happy! Also, thanks to my beta Camilla Sandman.

* * *

Even though the door to Grissom's office was open, Greg knocked before he entered in order to get his attention. After hearing the knock Gil lifted his head and looked at Greg. "What can I do for you, Greg?"

"I wanted to give you an update on our case," Greg said, taking a seat in front of the desk. "And I wanted to tell you that I have a personal relationship with the victim."

"How well do you know her?" Grissom asked.

"Alex used to live next door to my family when I was younger. She was my sister's best friend, but I haven't seen or heard from her in over ten years," Greg explained. "She went to live with her aunt after her parents were killed when she was ten and I haven't seen her since."

"All right. I don't want you to handle or process any more evidence from this case. I don't want your involvement to compromise anything," Grissom said.

"I figured you were going to say that, but I thought I should tell you anyway."

"Where is Alex now?"

"She's in the break room. Nick and Sara are getting ready to take her statement," Greg told him, standing up. "I told Alex I'd be there before they start so I'm going to get going."

"Keep me updated and remember Greg, hands off on this one."

"Will do, boss," he replied before leaving Grissom's office and heading to the break room.

When Greg got there, he saw Alex sitting at the table across from Nick and Sara, with the recorder sitting between them. Greg walked over to sit next to Alex.

"Are you sure you're ready to do this?" he asked gently.

"Yeah, I'm sure," Alex replied.

"We're waiting for Brass to get here before we get started," Nick said.

Sensing the tension in the room, and trying to lighten the mood, Sara said, "Nick was trying to get some dirt on you from when you were younger, Greg, but Alex wouldn't give up much."

"Yeah. All she would tell me was how protective you were of her," Nick added, grinning slightly.

"He did keep an eye out for Emily and me but he could be a pain too," Alex said, looking over at Greg. "Like when Em and I would be watching a movie you'd have your music blaring and wouldn't turn it down. Most of the time we had to get your parents to tell you to turn the volume down."

"When Greg worked in the DNA lab, he'd always be blasting music. It drove our boss- that's Gil Grissom, nuts," Sara said.

"Sometimes he was so into it that when we went to talk to him we'd catch him dancing and he didn't notice us until a few moments after we turned the music off," Nick recalled, making Alex smile. He looked toward the door and saw Brass come in. "Hey, Brass."

They all looked up at the captain. "We have everything ready to go. We were waiting for you before getting started," Sara said.

"You must be Alexandra," Brass said, looking at Alex as he took a seat at the end of the table. "I'm detective Jim Brass."

"Yeah, I'm Alex," Alex replied, looking past Brass to see Warrick entering the room. She tensed up again, feeling anxious with so many people in the room.

"Sorry to interrupt," Warrick apologized, walking over to the coffee pot. "I'm just here to get some coffee and then I'll be out of your way."

"It's all right Warrick. We didn't start yet," Sara told him.

"How's Cath doing?" Nick asked. "She seemed a little worked up before."

"She's fine," Warrick replied, casually pouring two cups of coffee. He didn't want to elaborate as he noticed Alex looked nervous, and he didn't want to reveal to the others anything Catherine didn't want them to know.

"I'll see you guys later," he added before heading out again.

After Warrick left Brass said, "All right. How about we get started now? Alex, at anytime if you want to stop, all you have to do is tell us and we can take a break. We're going to be recording what you say just for our own use, okay? Do you have any questions?"

"Yeah, um…" Alex started, hesitating slightly. Greg put his arm around her, and giving him a grateful smile, she continued. "What exactly do you want to know?"

"You can tell us anything you remember from last night," Brass said, pushing the record button.

"How much detail do I have to go into?" she asked, looking down at the table.

"As much as you feel comfortable with," Greg told her. "The more you tell us, the more it will help us to catch who did this."

"Where should I start from?" she asked.

"Why don't you tell us from before anything happened," Sara replied.

"All right. I was standing in the kitchen with my parents. I was telling them how my finals went when we heard something crash through the window in the living room. We all ran in there to see what happened." Alex paused, taking in a deep breath. "There was a man pointing his gun at us. He said if we screamed or tried to run away, he'd shoot us. He made us all go to my parents' room. He kept telling us not to try anything and if we did, he'd shoot us. When we got to the room he locked the door behind us. He told my mom to sit on the bed and all of us not to say a word."

"Can you tell us what he was wearing?" Brass asked, carefully trying to guide her to elaborate on details that could be helpful to catching the guy.

"He was wearing black pants, gray sneakers, a black shirt, and latex gloves," Alex said, her voice trembling as she spoke.

"What happened next?" Nick asked.

"He…He… He told my dad to sit down on the chair next to the bed and he told me to sit on the floor. He tied my dad's hands behind the back of the chair and each of his feet to a leg of the chair. Then he came over and tied my arms behind me and my legs together," she said, pausing again before continuing. "He threw my mom down on the bed and started to take off her cloths. She was struggling against him. My… My dad yelled at him to stop. He got off the bed and yelled at us saying if any of us said another word he would kill us all. He took a scarf and tied it around my dad's mouth. He… He..."

Breaking down and crying, Alex turned and looked at Greg. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against him, holding her until she regained some composure.

"Do you need a break, Alex?" he asked as she withdrew slightly.

"No. I'll be fine. I want to get this over with," Alex replied, sitting back in her chair and wiping her eyes with a tissue Greg handed her.

"Take your time and whenever you're ready you can continue," Greg told her.

"I'm ready," Alex said taking a deep breath. "After he tied the scarf around my dad's mouth, he came over and did the same to me. He went back over to the bed and got on top of my mom. I … I couldn't watch so I turned my head away. It sounded like he raped my mom. I think she was fighting him the whole time. I heard her gagging and gasping for a breath, so I looked up and saw that he had his hands around her throat. When she stopped moving he pulled out a knife from his back pocket. He raised his arm with the knife and brought it down. I … I … There was so much blood. He got up and walked over to my dad and slit his throat. More blood. So much..."

"Alex, you can..." Greg started, but she interrupted him.

"No! I'm going to finish now," Alex shouted, her voice shaky and raw. She hesitated for a moment, but went on with the last of her strength. "He flipped the knife shut and put it back in his pocket. I remember thinking the blood would stain his pocket. He looked over at me and told me it was my turn. I was so scared. I… I couldn't move. He came over and untied my hands and feet but left to scarf in my mouth. He grabbed my arm, pulled me up and threw me on the bed next to my mom. When…When I saw her lying there like that… and all the blood, I knew I couldn't give up. I knew I'd be dead unless I fought. I started to kick and hit him. At first it seemed like I was just making him angrier, but I must have finally caught him off balance because he fell off the bed. I didn't check to see if he hit his head or anything. I just got up and ran. I don't remember anything after that until that moment when you found me in the woods."

Alex looked over at Nick and Sara. "You did great, Alex," Sara reassured her.

"This is going to help us a lot," Brass added, turning the recorder off.

"I… I have to go," Alex said, suddenly standing up and moving toward the door, almost clawing for the door handle.

"Alex, wait!" Greg called out after her, but too late. She was already out of the room and was making her way down the hall.

Greg looked at Nick and Sara, hesitating until Nick urged him, "Go after her!"

Greg left the room, but Alex had vanished, presumably heading out. He didn't want to wait for the slow elevator so he ran down the stairs and out the front doors of the building. He looked around, but Alex was nowhere in sight. He let out a frustrated sigh and turned to head back inside.

When he got back up, he saw Grissom, Catherine, and Warrick had joined the others. "Did you catch her?" Sara asked, looking concerned.

"No. She was gone before I got out there," Greg explained. "I didn't see where she went."

"Did you get her contact information?" Grissom asked.

"No."

"Do you have any idea where she might go?" Nick asked.

"Not really. I barely got to talk to her before she gave her statement," Greg replied.

"She gave her full statement, right?" Catherine asked.

"Yes, but we still need to find her. I don't think she should be alone right now," Greg said, looking as concerned as he felt.

"Yeah," Sara agreed. "But we don't have any ways of contacting her. We're going to have to wait until she turns up again."

"Wait a minute," Nick said, pulling out a piece of paper from his pocket. "I almost forgot. Alex gave me this when she first got here. She wanted me to give it to Sara in case Sara wanted to call."

Greg took the offered paper from Nick and gave it a thoughtful look. "If we can trace this number, hopefully we can get an address and find Alex."

"Greg and Sara, you work on that," Grissom told them.

"Since there is nothing else for us to do right now and our shift is over, why don't we go home?" Nick suggested. "I'm sure Greg and Sara will call us if they find anything."

"That sounds good to me," Warrick said, looking at Catherine.

"Yeah, sounds good to me too, but make sure you call me as soon as you get any news about Alex," Catherine said, her voice full of concern.

"Don't worry, Cath. You know they'll call us as soon as they know anything. They know we're all worried about her," Warrick reassured her.

"I know, it's just…" Catherine started.

"It's what?" Nick asked, curious as to what was causing her to act the way she had since their encounter in the hallway.

"Oh, it's... I'm worried about her as Warrick said, as we all are," Catherine said, her voice now calmer. She hoped no one could tell how concerned she really was about Alex's whereabouts and state of mind. She didn't want to tell anyone else yet about her possible relation to Alex.

"All right," Nick replied, not fully buying her explanation, but Catherine could get emotional about cases and perhaps this was another example.

"I'm going to run the number now," Greg said, turning to leave. "Are you coming, Sara?"

"Yeah, bye guys. Hopefully I'll be calling you soon to let you know where Alex is," Sara said and following Greg.

"I'm leaving now. I'll see you both tomorrow," Nick told Catherine and Warrick before heading to the locker room to get his bag.

"Hey Greg," Sara said, watching Greg sitting down in front of the computer. "Why don't you get started? I'll be right back, just gotta do one thing."

"All right."

Smiling, she walked out of the room and headed to the locker room. She hoped Nick was still there. As she pushed the door open she saw he was indeed there, sitting on the bench in front of his locker.

He looked up at her when he heard her enter. "Hey, Sara. I thought you were going to help Greg look for that address."

"I'm going to, but I wanted to give you a proper goodbye," she said, walking over to him.

"Oh really?" he asked, standing up to face her and closing his locker door. "What did you have in mind?"

"Nothing special," she replied, trying to hold back a smile as she leaned back against the row of lockers.

"But I thought you said you wanted to say goodbye?" he said, moving so close to her their faces were nearly touching.

"I do," she said, her voice barely a whisper.

"Then why don't..." Nick started, but he was cut off by Sara's lips covering his.

It was a full minute before they broke apart, neither speaking for a moment. Without really being aware of it, he'd lifted his hands up on either side of Sara, effectively pinning her between him and the lockers. She didn't seem to mind, judging by the look on her face, and neither did he. After a deep, steadying breath, he broke the silence. "That was... Nice."

"Yeah, but I better get going before someone comes looking for me and finds us like this," she replied.

"You're right... But I think we have time for one more," he said, giving her a seductive smile.

"I was thinking the same thing," she almost purred, sliding her arms up his back.

"Good," he told her, embracing her and pulling her as close as he could. She smiled up at him as he leaned down to capture her lips again.

Both of them were so caught up in the moment they didn't hear Warrick come into the room. As soon as he noticed the pair, he tried to slip out without disturbing, but ended up tripping over something on the floor. Out of balance, he had to catch himself by leaning on a locker. The two broke apart as soon as they heard the noise. Noticing it was Warrick, they quickly stepped away from each other, looking guilty.

Warrick stifled a laugh as he noticed their flustered appearance. "Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt anything. I forgot something in my locker."

"It's all right. I have to get back to work anyway," Sara said, quickly moving towards the door.

"Call me when your shift is over?" Nick called after her.

As she reached the doorway she turned back to face him with a smile on her face. "Don't worry, I will."

After Sara left the room and the door closed behind her, Warrick turned to Nick. "So, Sara's the one that caused your good mood earlier?"

"Yes," Nick replied, wanting to give away anything more than the already obvious.

"So what caused you to finally make your move on her?"

"We went out for breakfast together when we got off work yesterday and then we went back to her place after. We ended up watching some TV and falling asleep on the couch."

"That's all?" Warrick asked, sensing there was more to the story.

"Yeah, that's it," Nick replied, not wanting to spill everything. He was pretty sure Sara would want some details kept private.

Warrick only gave a disbelieving stare as he got the shirt he forgot out of his locker and they both walked out of the building. When they reached the parking lot, they said their goodbyes and headed for their individual cars.

As Warrick approached his SUV, he noticed Catherine leaning back against it with her arms crossed. When she noticed him, she dropped her arms to her side and stood up straight. "What's up, Cath?" he asked, wondering why she was waiting for him.

"I was thinking that while we wait to hear from Greg and Sara, and keep my mind off it, we could finish what we started in my office," she whispered into his ear as she leaned against him.

"That sounds like a good plan to me," he replied, looking down at her. "Your place or mine?"

"Yours. It's closer," she told him, and his gaze never left her as she walked around the front of the SUV and climbed into the passenger seat.


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: I'm really sorry for taking forever to update this. If you want to read a longer explanation then you can click on my name and read my profile. Thanks for continuing to read this and please review! Below is a brief recap of chapters 1-8 but if you haven't read this yet then you would get more if you read it from the beginning. Also, thanks to my beta Camilla Sandman for all of her help.

Recap: A serial killer is on the loose in Las Vegas. The latest victim, Alexandra Miller, is the only survivor. She is 22 years old. She knew Greg when she was younger but hasn't seen him in nearly 12 years. Alex looks like Catherine when she was younger. Nick and Sara have started a relationship. The last chapter ended with Sara and Greg trying to find an address for Alex and Warrick and Catherine heading to his apartment.

* * *

"_That sounds like a good plan to me," he replied, looking down at her. "Your place or mine?"_

"_Yours. It's closer," she told him, and his gaze never left her as she walked around the front of the SUV and climbed into the passenger seat._

The ride to Warrick's apartment was spent in silence, both stealing occasional glances at each other. Neither of them said a word until Warrick pulled into his parking space. Turning off the engine and taking the keys out of the ignition, he turned towards her and said, "Are you sure about this, Cath? Because I don't want you to regret anything."

"Regret?" she asked. "I have been waiting for this for so long. If I regret anything, it's not making a move sooner. Unless you're not sure."

"Oh, I'm definitely sure. Let's go upstairs," he replied. Without wasting any time, they both got out of the car, his hand slipping into hers as they entered the building.

When Warrick was about to put the key into the door, it slipped from his hand and he bent over to pick it up. As he straightened up again, he looked at Catherine, and noticed her staring at him.

Realizing she was caught, she smiled and said, "What? I can't enjoy the view?"

He let out a slight chuckle as he finally got the door open. He led the way into his apartment as he asked, "Do you want a drink or anything?"

"Nope, I'm good. All I need right now is you," she replied, closing the door behind her and pulling him towards her. Their lips crashed together as he pinned her against the door, his eagerness matched equally by hers. As the kiss intensified she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him as close to her as possible.

After a minute or so, they pulled apart, gasping for air. "Wow," was all he managed to say, staring down into her eyes.

"Yeah, wow," she replied, returning the gaze before pulling him back into another mind-numbing kiss. He ran his tongue against her lips and she gladly parted them for him. With their tongues dancing together, she ran her hands up the front of his chest. She unbuttoned his shirt and slid it off his back while he began to guide them towards his bedroom. By the time they reached the door to his room, they had stripped down to their underwear.

Sliding his hands down her back, he grabbed her around the waist, lifting her off the ground. She wrapped her legs around him as he walked them over to the bed. When they reached the edge of the bed, they tumbled onto it without breaking the kiss. Once again in need for air, he pulled back and looked down at her lying beneath him. Wanting to be totally sure she wanted the same thing and to give her one last chance to back out, he asked, "Is this what you really want?"

Not being able to put enough words together to tell him how much she really wanted what was happening, she instead slid her arms down to the waist band of his boxers and began to push them down. He got the message and helped her remove the boxers altogether, and sitting back slightly, he swiftly got rid of her last article of clothing as well. After he flung them back, he resumed his previous position on top of her.

It was obvious to her now, just how aroused he was, and she felt the same way. When he began to leave a trail of kisses down her neck, then chest, she let a small moan escape. She couldn't take much more and let him know that when he looked up at her. "Warrick, please…now."

* * *

A while later, they lay together underneath the sheets, both extremely satisfied. Warrick was lying on his back with his arms wrapped around Catherine while she was next to him, resting her head on his chest. 

He was the first one to break the silence after he kissed her lightly on top of her head, "That was amazing, Cath."

"Yeah, it was," she replied, lifting her head to look at him. She moved up a bit to kiss him gently on the lips, and then lay back down. A few minutes later they drifted off to sleep.

It was hours later when Warrick opened his eyes and saw Catherine lying on her side, facing away from him. When he realized that she was quietly crying, he reached out and gently touched her shoulder and said, "Hey Cath, what's wrong?"

"Um…nothing," she replied, wiping away the few tears that had fallen.

"I know you're lying. We talked about this earlier, you know you can tell me anything. I know you're going though a lot right now." Suddenly he got a sinking feeling in his stomach when a thought crossed his mind. "You don't regret what we did, do you? Because I don't at all."

She rolled over onto her other side so she was now facing him. "Of course not. You know I have wanted this for a long time."

"Good, and this isn't just a one time thing. When I said I wanted to be with you, I meant I want a real relationship. I don't want this to be a fling."

"Me too," she said, shifting her body closer to him, resting her head on his chest, and laying her left arm across his stomach. "It's just…"

"It's what?" he asked, wrapping his arms around her and placing a reassuring kiss on her forehead, as if to remind her that he wasn't going anywhere.

Without moving, she replied, "It's just that there is so much going on, I don't know if I'm going to be able to put as much as I want into out relationship. I know being the scientist I am, my brain is telling me to wait until we do DNA test but I know in my heart that Alex is my Alexandra. I want to be sure you know what you're getting yourself into. Before today you thought it was just me and Lindsey and now I have this whole big mess to sort through. So, if you need or want to think about things, I understand."

"Hey now. Look at me," he told her, taking her chin in his hand, guiding her head so she was looking him in the eye. "I know you have a complicated past. I do too. There is nothing that is going to push me away. I know it's going to be crazy for awhile, but I'm not going anywhere. I'm going to be there for you where and whenever you need me. I don't just want to be a part of your life, I want to be in Lindsey's too and if it does turnout that Alex is your daughter, then hers too."

Another couple of tears rolled down her cheeks but before he could say anything she spoke, "I…I…thank you." She hoped he realized how much what he said meant to her and that he could tell by the look in her eyes because she couldn't put the words together to tell him herself.

Sensing she wanted to say more and rather knowing what it was, he raised his hand and put a finger on her lips. "Shhh, it's okay, I know." He echoed the sentiment by action as well, capturing her lips in a soft, tender kiss.

They broke apart suddenly when the phone on his nightstand rang. She rolled away from him so he could reach over and answer the phone. "Brown."

"Hey Warrick, it's Sara. I wouldn't have called you at home but you didn't answer your cell and Catherine didn't answer hers either or her home phone and I wanted to let you guys know that we got an address for the number Alex gave Nick."

"That's great. Where is it?"

"It's an apartment a few blocks away from the UNLV campus. We think it's probably where Alex lives when she's not at the Millers'. Greg and I are going to head over there now and check it out. Grissom told us that we should search the apartment in case we find something that could lead us to someone who had a grudge against the Millers. We're getting a warrant, so if she's not there we can get the super to let us in. Do you know where Catherine is?"

"Yeah, she's here. I'll let her know. Thanks for calling. Let us know if you need any help."

"Sure. Greg can't collect any evidence, so I'll call if I need a hand or if we find anything."

"Okay, bye," Warrick said before putting the phone back down. He turned to see Catherine regard him with an obvious question on her mind.

"Who was that?"

"Sara. They got an address for the number. It's an apartment near UNLV, and she's heading over there now with Greg to see if Alex is there. She might need my help when she searches the apartment. She said she'll call us when they know more," he told her.

"I know I'm not going to be able to sleep anymore so I think I'm going to go home and get changed and then head into the lab," she said. "I need to talk to Grissom and let him know what's going on and that I shouldn't be on this case anymore as well."

"I'll go make some coffee and then I'll drive you home and to the lab," he said as he reached for his boxers.

* * *

Almost an hour later, Catherine and Warrick were walking down the hallway of the lab. Catherine was about to enter Grissom's office but stopped when she noticed that Ecklie and the Sheriff were in there too. 

Warrick had stopped too when he noticed them and said, "I wonder what that's about?"

"I don't know but Ecklie doesn't look too happy," she replied.

"Do you want me to go in there with you?" he asked.

"Thanks, but I should do this by myself," she told him.

"All right. I'll be in the break room when you're done," he said, before walking away, leaving her to take a deep breath and steel herself.

She knocked as she entered Grissom's office and said, "I'm sorry to interrupt but was there a meeting called that I wasn't aware of?"

"Actually, we're just finishing up here. Gil can fill you in on the changes," the Sheriff told her, getting up from where he was sitting. Without saying a word, Ecklie got up and followed him out, leaving Catherine and Grissom alone.

"So what was that about?" Catherine asked.

"The Sheriff fired Ecklie and he's putting the old graveyard shift back together. You and I are going to be, as he put it, 'co-supervisors'," he said.

"Really? Ecklie's fired? What did he do?" she asked, sitting down so she was facing him.

"One of the day shift lab techs has filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against him. Since it wasn't the first complaint against him and it looked like she would've won if they took it to court, the Sheriff said he would fire Ecklie if she dropped the suit. She agreed, and Ecklie has until the end of the day to clear out his office," he said.

"Why the change with the shifts?" she asked.

"He was never that happy with the changes Ecklie made to begin with so the dayshift supervisor is going to take Ecklie's spot and Sofia is going to run days," he said.

"What about swing? If Nick, Warrick and I are coming back to graveyard, who's going to run swing?"

"Steve Adams from days."

"That's great, now I'll get to see Lindsey more and …"

"And what?"

"Well, it's why I came in early in the first place. I told Warrick yesterday but before that, no one knew. I think Alexandra Miller is my daughter. Well, I'm actually sure she is, though a DNA test will tell for certain."

"So what you're trying to tell me is that you can't work her case anymore either?"

"Yeah," was all the answer she offered. He sensed se didn't wish to explain more at present time, and didn't push for more information.

"Do you need any time off?"

"That would be great, if it's possible."

"It'll be fine since Warrick and Nick will be back on graveyard. You have plenty of vacation time coming up. Take a few weeks to sort things out," he told her. "Was that Warrick I saw come in with you?"

"Yes, he's here."

"Do you want to tell him the news?"

"Yeah," she said standing up and walking to the door. Before she left she turned around. "Thanks, Gil."

"You're welcome Catherine."

* * *

A/N: Thanks so much for sticking with this fic and as usual reviews are greatly appreciated. The next chapter will be up soon and have a little more happening in it. 


	10. Chapter 10

Thanks to my beta, Camilla Sandman.

Walking into the break room, Catherine spotted Warrick sitting on the couch. As she approached, he turned his attention from the magazine he'd been reading.

"How did it go?" he asked.

"Great! Better than I could have expected," she replied.

"What was the meeting about?"

"Ecklie got fired," she told him, a smile growing on her face.

"What?" he exclaimed, his surprise evident.

"Yeah, one of the lab techs filed a sexual harassment lawsuit, and the Sheriff agreed to fire Ecklie if she dropped it."

"That's great. Did you tell Grissom about Alex?"

"I did and he said I could take off as much time as I needed, but that's not the only good news," she said, pausing briefly. "The old graveyard shift is being put back together."

"So, you're saying that you, Nick, and I are going back to graveyard?"

"Yup, and when I come back, I'll be co-supervisor with Grissom."

"I'm happy for you, Cath," he said, embracing her gently.

"Thanks, Rick," she whispered softly into his ear.

They broke apart a moment later when they heard someone enter the room, and glancing over to the doorway, they spotted Julie, the new DNA lab tech.

"Um…I'm sorry to interrupt you Ms. Willows, but I have some information for you," Julie said.

"Call me Catherine. What is it?"

"I think this is something you might want to hear in private," Julie said, looking uncomfortable as she glanced over at Warrick.

"It's okay. Anything you have to tell me, you can say in front of Warrick," Catherine said, throwing a quick look at Warrick.

"All right. Well, I was processing the SAE kit done on Alexandra Miller and I must have hit a wrong button or something, pulling up the wrong database. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry, but…the results came out and her DNA has thirteen alleles in common with yours. Alexandra Miller is a first degree relative," Julie told her, Handing her a copy of the results.

"Are you sure?" Catherine asked, looking down at the paper, not quite ready to believe what she thought, was really true.

"Yes. Like I said, I'm really sorry. I know I shouldn't have run her DNA through the system, but when it came back with your name, I thought I should let you know," Julie said, looking down. "Again, I'm sorry and I'll be in the DNA lab if you have any other questions."

Julie hurried to leave, Catherine hardly noticing. Feeling unable to move, she just sat there, staring at the paper in her hands. Finally, after a minute had passed, she looked up at Warrick.

"I can't believe it. She's really mine," she said, pausing to let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. "I mean, I knew she most likely was, but I didn't expect to have it confirmed this soon."

"But you're happy, right?" Warrick asked, putting an arm around her.

"Yeah, of course I am. I've been wondering for so long about where Alex was and now that I know, I'm just in shock," she said.

Grissom appeared in the doorway, noticing her expression, he asked, "Is everything all right in here?"

Catherine looked up at Grissom, taking a deep breath before saying, "Julie was in here a minute ago. She accidentally put Alex's DNA through the system and discovered Alex is my daughter."

"What are you going to do?" Grissom asked.

"Well, I haven't really thought about that yet," she said, looking troubled. After Warrick gave her shoulder a squeeze, she continued. "I don't even know if she wants to meet me. I mean, I know she's my daughter, but what if she doesn't want to know me?"

"You don't have to make up your mind now. Warrick, why don't you take her home? You can come back tonight when shift starts," Grissom said.

"Okay," Warrick replied, standing up, guiding Catherine alongside of him. "Come on, Cath. I'll talk you home and you can consider what you want to do next."

Rather dazed, Catherine quietly followed him out of the building.

Meanwhile, across town, Sara and Greg had arrived at the apartment building they believed Alex might be living in. They got out of their Denali and walked up to the main entrance. Access was gained easily enough after they showed the doorman their badges.

After elevator doors closed behind them, Greg observed, "This is a lot nicer than your typical apartment building for college students."

"It is, but it's not surprising considering how large the Miller's house was," Sara replied.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," he conceded. "I wish I had a place like this instead of my closet sized dorm room. So do you think Alex will be here?"

"I'm not sure, but it's the only lead we got to work with. If she's not, then I'll get the super to open her apartment for me, and you can go back to the lab."

"I…" he started, but was cut off.

"You can't work the evidence," she reminded him. "Grissom didn't even want you to come, so you're only here to make her more at ease."

"Okay, but let me do the talking at first if she is there."

"Fine," she agreed as the elevator signaled that they've reached the desired floor. With Greg trailing her, she found apartment 21C and knocked. There was no answer.

Greg tried a few hard knocks, but with no answer still, he called out, "Alex, it's Greg and Sara. Are you in there?"

Finally, they heard a chain moving on the other side of the door. But the door was only opened about a foot and Alex called out, "What are you guys doing here? It's seven thirty in the morning."

"Can we come in, Alex?" Greg asked, not wanting to talk in the hallway and risk waking her neighbors.

"Yeah, sure. Come on in," Alex replied, opening the door all the way to let them in. A thought occurred to her and she asked, "Wait a minute. How did you know I would be here? How did you get my address?"

"We traced the number you gave to Nick," Sara told her, moving further into the apartment.

"Oh, that," Alex said. "But why are you here now?"

"We're sorry for coming so early, but we were concerned when you ran out of the lab. We wanted to make sure you were okay," Greg said, taking in Alex's appearance. She was wearing light blue pajama pants and a matching spaghetti strap shirt, clearly clad for bed, but Greg doubted she slept very well.

"Well, you can see I'm fine," Alex replied, sounding a bit annoyed.

Sara could tell by the bags under her eyes and her disheveled hair that she was anything but fine. She looked like she hadn't slept since the last time they saw her, but Sara didn't want to agitate her anymore than she already was. So instead she asked, "Can we ask you a few more questions?"

"I guess that would be okay," Alex said, leading the way into the spacious living room. "Although I don't know more I can tell you beyond what I've all ready said."

"We just have a few more and then we'll be done for now," Sara said, taking a seat on one of the black leather sofas. Greg seated himself nest to Alex, ready to calm her down if needed.

Not able to think of a better way to approach the subject, she simply asked, "Do you know why anyone would want to hurt your parents?"

"They're not my parents," Alex replied sharply.

Surprised by her change in demeanor, Sara rephrased the question slightly, "Okay, then do you know why anyone would want to hurt the Millers or if they had any enemies?"

"No," was all Alex offered, standing up and walking over to a window. "We weren't that close."

"Do you know who they spent a lot of time with?" Sara asked.

"All I know is that the Jenkins were their best friends. You should be talking to them," Alex replied, still gazing out the window. "The Millers were more concerned with what people thought of them, not with what I thought. They didn't share any of their secrets with me. Whenever they had company over, and came into the room, they would change the subject. I guess they didn't think I would notice. Anything we ever talked about was superficial."

"I'm sorry to hear that, Alex," Sara told her sincerely. "Did you ever see anyone around the house that you thought was suspicious in any way?"

"Not really. I was barely there. I only visited there for big holidays and this was going to be the first summer I spent there since I started college," Alex said, finally turning back around to face Greg and Sara. "So now you know it's pointless to waste anymore time asking me about them since I didn't really know them."

Sara could tell Alex was getting more upset with every question asked, but she wanted to get out as much information from Alex as she could, so she continued, "You moved in with the Millers when you were seventeen?"

"Yeah," Alex replied. "I would have aged out of the system in a year so I was lucky someone wanted to adopt me."

"Your next door neighbor, Cassie Jenkins, said the Millers never officially adopted you. That there was a problem with the paperwork," Sara asked carefully, wondering if it was a touchy subject.

"Hmh…" Alex replied, letting out a slight chuckle. "Is that what they told you? It wasn't a paperwork problem as they put it. That's probably just what Joe and Silvia told them to keep up their appearance as the world's most perfect couple, who never did anything wrong or had any problems."

"So what was the problem then?" Sara asked.

"Well, like I said, I was happy at first when I was told someone wanted to adopt me at seventeen. The closer you get to eighteen, the more hope you lose for getting adopted when you're in foster care," Alex explained, walking back towards where Greg was, then sitting down next to him. "Plus, it was an added bonus that they were rich. I was just happy to get out of the group home. But I quickly learned that they only wanted me for the photo ops. That's why I never was adopted. As much as I wanted a family, I didn't want to be a trophy kid. So, we came to the agreement that I would change my name to Miller and they would pay for school, this apartment, and give me a trust fund. I didn't say yes because of the money, I would have traded all of this without a thought to have a family that really wanted me, but I knew that wasn't going to happen, so it would have been stupid for me to turn down their deal."

Greg reached to put his hand on her arm to comfort her but she jumped slightly when did, so he pulled back. "I'm sorry Alex," he said, unsure of what else to say to her after what she had just revealed to them.

"Why? You didn't do anything," Alex told him, her tone a little sharp.

"Do you know anyone that would want to hurt you?" Sara went on.

"No. I had a few friends from school and a few people I keep in touch with from the home but no one that would want to hurt me. I don't have any enemies," Alex said, her voice revealing more and more annoyance. "Are you done now? I'm getting sick of being treated like a suspect in my own home."

Sara knew Alex wasn't going to like what came next but it had to be done, "I don't have any more questions, but we're going to search your apartment."

"What! Why? I'm the victim here, remember?" Alex exclaimed, jumping up.

"I know, Alex, but we may find something that may lead us to a suspect," Sara told her, trying to calm her down.

"I told you everything already. There's nothing here for you to find," Alex told her as she started to walk out of the room. She hoped Sara and Greg would get the hint that she wanted to be alone and leave.

"Alex, wait," Greg said, following her out of the room and trying to reassure her. "We don't think you've done anything wrong. We might be able to find something that could lead us to a suspect that you didn't know could."

"Alex, do you mind if I talk to Greg alone for a minute?" Sara asked, having joined them in the hallway.

"Fine, whatever. I'll be in the kitchen," Alex told them before walking away again.

"I don't want to leave Alex alone since chances are the perp knows by now she's alive. That picture she drew of him is all over the news, after all."

"I agree," Sara said. "I'll call Grissom and ask if we can get police protection for her. Then I'll call Nick and see if he can come do the search and we can take Alex back to the lab instead. I think she's still not telling us something."

"I know what you mean. She seems a lot different than last night. She's more defensive, like she's holding something back that she doesn't want us to find out," Greg said thoughtfully. "I don't think she should be here when Nick does the search so I'll go tell her what we're going to do."

"Okay. I'm going to go make those calls," Sara told him, heading off to do so.

Greg entered the kitchen. "Alex," he said to get her attention.

"What?" she snapped, glaring back at him.

"Alex," he began walking closer to her. "We really need to search your apartment. Nick is going to come over to do it and then Sara and I are going to take you back to the lab."

"Why? So you can interrogate me?" she asked sharply, still sounding very defensive.

"No, Alex. We just don't think you should be here when he does the search," he said gently, and she seemed to give in.

"Can I at least take a shower and get dressed?" she asked.

"Yeah, that's fine. I'll be waiting with Sara," he told her. When she was passing by him in the doorway he stopped her for a moment, looking into her eyes, "Alex, we're not trying to hurt you. We are trying to find the man who did this so he can't do it to you again or anyone else. I know this is a really bad time for you, Alex, but I'm here for you. You know that, right?"

Alex looked down for a second, not able to look him in the eye because she feared he would be able to detect that deep down, she was really scared. She wasn't ready to confide in him yet. "I need to take a shower," was all she said.

"Alex, I thought last night you were happy to see me. Why are you so angry now?"

Her voice started to crack as she said, "I…I …never mind." She left Greg's side, ran into the bathroom, and turned the water on. She stripped off her clothes as quickly as she could, climbed into the shower, and broke down. Her back slid down the shower wall as she released the tears she had been holding back since Sara and Greg arrived. "Why me? Why is it always me?" she asked herself. The silence offered no answers.

A/N: Please, Please, Pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee review! It only will take a minute and I appreciate them so much. They make me so happy. Even if you only write 'I like it", that would be great. The next chapter will be up soon.


	11. Chapter 11

Thanks to my beta, Camilla Sandman, for all her help.

Yay! I reached 100 reviews! Thanks to all of those who are a part of that.

* * *

Greg had started to get concerned when half an hour had passed and the water could still be heard running, but just about when he was ready to go knock on the door, it finally stopped. About fifteen minutes later, Alex walked into the living room where Greg and Sara were waiting for her. Nick was also there, having arrived a few minutes earlier.

Greg was the first to break the silence, "Are you ready to go, Alex?"

"Yeah, I'm ready. Let's just go and get this over with," Alex said, with a slight hint of annoyance in her voice. "I just have to grab my purse out of the kitchen."

Once Alex left the room, Nick turned to the other two and asked, "Did something happen that I don't know about?"

"No. She's been like that since we got here and she's been resisting giving too much information, like she has something to hide," Sara told him. "Maybe we'll get it out of her at the lab."

After picking up her purse, Alex followed Sara and Greg to the Denali. It was a tense drive, Alex sitting silent next to Greg and mostly watching the traffic.

After Sara had parked the car back at the lab, they entered the building together, Alex more hesitantly than the others. As they were walking down the hall and were about to enter an interview room, Grissom approached them.

"Sara, Greg, can I see you two for a moment?" he asked, gesturing towards his office.

"Uh, sure. Just a second," Greg replied before showing Alex into the interview room. "We shouldn't be long."

"Go, it's not like it's up to me," Alex said, taking a seat at the table.

Greg let out a sigh, closing the door behind him. He hoped he would be able to figure out what had caused Alex to become so defiant and angry, when earlier she had been so openly emotional about what had happened. When he had reached Grissom's office, he saw that Sara was sitting across from Grissom at his desk.

"Please take a seatGreg," Grissom said. "There has been some developments you two need to know about."

"Did you find out who our perp is?" Sara asked, hoping for a quick resolution.

"No. It doesn't deal directly with the case," Grissom said, pausing for a moment. "First, there has been another shift change."

"What did Ecklie do now?" Greg asked, already rolling his eyes.

"It was the Sheriff's decision this time. Ecklie had nothing to do with it except getting fired," Grissom told them, holding back a small smile.

"What did he do?" Sara asked.

"It's a long story and I don't feel like going through it againbut what I will tell you is that the old graveyard shift is going to be out back together. Catherine and I will be running the shift together," Grissom informed them.

"That's great!" Sara exclaimed. "I've missed working with Nick, Warrick and even Catherine too."

"Is there anything elseGrissom?" Greg asked. "I don't want to leave Alex alone for too long."

Deciding to just say it, Grissom said, "Alexandra Miller is Catherine's daughter."

"What? Are you telling is that Catherine has another daughter?" Greg asked. Already, his mind was racing with the new possibilities this presented.

"Yes," Grissom confirmed. "Julie put Alex's DNA through the system and the results confirmed it."

"Does Nick know?" Sara asked.

"I called him when he was on his way over to her apartment and told him," Grissom said. "He's going to see if he can find anything indicating whether or not she knows Catherine is her mother. Did she say anything to either of you?"

"She hasn't told us about any living family members," Greg started. "So, I have no idea if she knows or not. Maybe that's what she's been hiding. I should go check on her."

Eager to do as said, Greg got up, but he paused in the doorway when he heard Grissom speak, "Be careful that you don't ask her anything about the case."

"I'll go with him," Sara said, following Greg out the door. Before they entered the interview room, she turned to him. "I'll watch from the observation room for now."

When Greg entered the room, Alex was sitting back in a chair, her arms crossed in front of her. It wasn't a very welcoming attitude, and Greg could see he had some work to do to getting through to her.

Alex looked up when she heard him come in. "Great. Time for the interrogation to begin," she said, glaring at him.

Taking a seat across from her, Greg said, "Alex, like I told you before, this isn't an interrogation and we don't consider you a suspect."

"Then why do I feel like you do?" she asked, sitting up straighter.

"I'm sorry that you fell that way, but I'm not here to ask you about your attack. I can't work your case since I know you," he told her.

"Then what else do you want to know?"

Meanwhile, in the observation room, Sara's cell phone rang. "Sidle," she answered.

"It's Nick. I thought you would want to know that I found a box under Alex's bed. I haven't read through all of the papers in it yet, but there are some pictures of Catherine and Lindsey in it. It looks like she hired a private investigator to find her," Nick told her.

"Okay, so she most likely does know," Sara replied.

"It looks that way," Nick agreed.

"Thanks for letting me know. I'll go tell Greg. He's talking to Alex now. I'll see you later," Sara said, hanging up her phone and slipping it back into her pocket.

As Sara entered the room Greg was saying, "I want to ask you about your parents."

Alex was about to reply, but Sara cut her off, "Hey, Greg." Noting her tone, he got up and walked over to her. In a low voice, she filled him in on what Nick had found and then left.

"So," Greg started, turning his attention back to Alex. He noticed the whispered conversation he'd had with Sara hadn't exactly made Alex friendlier.

"I told you before, the Millers aren't my parents," Alex snapped at him.

"I know, I want to ask you about your real parents," he said, once again taking a seat across from her.

"The Kesslers?" she asked, not quite sure what he was getting at. She was starting to get nervous, not liking the direction this conversation was taking. "You were their neighbor. What else do you want to know about them that you don't already?"

"I'm not talking about the Kesslers."

"Then who?"

"Your biological parents," he told her.

"What?" she asked, surprised by the question. "What are you talking about?"

"I know the Kesslers adopted you at birth, Alex."

"How…How did you find out? I never told you."

"After the Kesslers died, and we were looking for you, that was the only thing we found out."

"Oh," she replied, looking down at her hands in her lap and noticing she had started twisting them without even thinking. "Why do you want to know about my birth parents?"

"I want to know if you ever found out who they were or if the Kesslers told you about them?" he asked, figuring it would be better if he didn't come right out and tell her what they knew. It might sound like as accusation, and he didn't want her to become even more defensive.

Ignoring his question, she asked one of her own, "Why do you want to know that? Why does it matter now?"

"Because you've been through a lot and maybe you would want to contact them," he told her, holding back that he knew her biological mother in case she really didn't know.

Knowing that Nick would eventually come across the box under her bed, if he hadn't already, and they would find out the truth sooner or later, she decided there was no use lying to him about it. "I only know who my mother is."

"What's her name?"

"You already know, don't you?" she questioned, sensing he was trying to get her to admit to something he already knew.

"Yes, I do."

"Then why did you ask me?"

"Because I wanted to know if you knew before I told you."

"Let me guess how you found out. Nick found the box under my bed?"

"Yes and no. He did find the box, but our supervisor told us before that."

"How did he know?"

"Our lab ran a DNA test. It's definite, Alex. Catherine Willows is your biological mother," Greg told her. When he saw that Alex was just sitting there with a blank look on her face, he stood up and walked around the table, resting a hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, um, I'm fine. It's just…" Alex said, pausing for a moment. "The private investigator I hired found my birth records, but I didn't have a DNA test done so I wasn't a hundred percent sure. I hadn't figured out how to contact her yet. What was I supposed to do? Call her up and say, 'hi, I think I'm the daughter you gave up for adoption over twenty-two years ago'?"

"If you want, we can call her for you."

"No!" Alex exclaimed, standing up so she was facing him. "I mean, I don't know. What if she doesn't want to see me?"

"She's a great mom, Alex. I have seen her with your sister, Lindsey. I'm sure she would want to be here for you."

"Does she even know?"

"Yes. She's at home now, but she was here a little bit ago and found out. Do you want me to call her?"

"I don't know," she replied, crossing her arms and looking down.

"Do you want some time alone to think about it?"

"I can't see her yet. First, I have to know for sure."

"Know what for sure?"

"You wouldn't understand," Alex said quietly. It was taking every bit of energy she had to hold herself together. She didn't know how much longer she could hold back.

"Understand what?" he asked, taking a few steps towards her. "Alex, I'm not going anywhere. You can tell me anything."

"I told you already, you…"she started, pausing when her voice cracked. "You won't understand."

"Alex, please. Tell me," he pleaded, raising his hands and resting themon her shoulders.

"I can't," she whispered, reaching up to wipe a few tears away.

"Yes, you can," he reassured her, giving her a slight squeeze.

"Fine. You really want to know? Then I'll tell you," she said, taking a few steps back. She couldn't hold it back anymore so she let it all come out in a rush of words. "I need to know for sure that she doesn't just want to meet me. I need to know that she wants to be my mom. Ever since I left my aunt's house and was put into the foster care system, I was sent from house to house. I spent six years being bounced around. I lived with twenty-three different foster families before my caseworker gave up and put me in the group home when I was fifteen. The first few times I arrived at a new house, I thought 'maybe this will be it', but that didn't last long. I was happy to go to the group home. That way I didn't have to deal with the rejection anymore."

"Alex…" Greg began, moving closer to her. He had only taken one step before Alex reached out to stop him.

"Don't," she choked out. Her tears were falling freely now. She didn't even bother to wipe any away. "I can't handle any more rejection. I've had enough. If she doesn't want to be my momthen fine, but I'm not going to talk to her unless she wants to."

"Alex," Greg tried again, placing his arms back on her shoulders. She immediately turned away from him.

"No, you don't get it! You can't possibly understand what it was like!"

Not able to think of what to say or do to her, Greg stood silent for a few moments. He turned towards the door when he heard it open. He saw Sara walk in and close the door behind her.

"Alex," Sara called, trying to get her attention.

"What?" Alex said, turning around.

"I understand," Sara told her.

"Understand what?" Alex questioned, slightly confused about what Sara was referring to.

"I understand what it's like to feel like you're just a number and what it's like to think you're never going to have a family of your or a place to call home," Sara explained.

"You were in the system?" Alex sounded incredulous.

"Yes, for about five years before I went to college," Sara said. "I know what you went through, Alex, because I went through the same thing."

"Why are you telling me?" Alex asked, sniffling while she was trying to calm herself down.

"Because I want you to know that you're not alone, and that I understand why you need to know if Catherine wants to be your mom," Sara said. "I would want to know too, if I was in your place."

"What happened to your parents?" Alex blurted out, before she had time to consider maybe Sara didn't want to tell.

"Why don't you take a seat?"Sara asked, walking overto sit where Greg had previously been seated. Alex and Greg sat down across from her, Greg slightly hesitantly.

Greg had taken Alex's right hand between his before he looked over at Sara. "Sara, I can leave if you want me to," he told her.

"No, it's okay, Greg. You can stay," Sara replied, taking a deep breath before continuing. "My father was abusive, both physically and verbally. My mother had taken it for years. Then one day, when I cam home from school, she couldn't take it anymore. I was thirteen at the time, and I didn't know what she meant by that. That night, I was in my room, reading a book. I thought it was just one of their typical fights, but then all of the sudden, the yelling stopped. I went to go see what happened and found my father dead. My mother had killed him. I don't remember much after that except that I wouldn't let go of the social workers hand."

"Yeah, me too. That's all I remember," Alex said quietly, looking down at her hand in Greg's. "She was so nice to me, but I didn't say a word to her. Did you ever live in a group home?"

"No, I never did. I was in fourteen different homes before I finally was placed with a really nice family. It was right before my senior year of high school. I stayed with them until I went to college," Sara said, slowly pushing back out of her chair before standing up. "If it's okay Alex, I have to go do something, but I shouldn't be long."

"Okay," Alex said, looking over at her. "Thanks for talking with me."

"You're welcome, Alex," Sara said, taking a card out of her pocket and handing it to Alex. "Here's my card. It has my cell number on it. If you ever want to talk again, you can call me anytime."

"Thanks," Alex said, taking the card.

After Sara left the room, Greg turned to Alex. "How are you holding up?"

"I'm okay," Alex replied, her voice a bit shaky.

"Do you want me to call your mom for you?"

"Yeah, I don't think I could do it right now."

"Will you be all right for a few minutes while I go make the call?"

"I'll be fine," Alex told him, standing up after he did. "Thanks, for everything. It means so much to me."

Greg embraced her and whispered in her ear, "Everything will work out. Remember, Alex, no matter what happens, I will always be here for you."

"I know you will," she replied. She watched him after he released her and until he left the room. "Everything will work out," repeating to herself what Greg had said, sitting down, and staring at her trembling hands.

* * *

A/N: Thanks for reading and an extra thanks for those awesome reviews  And if you have been reading but haven't been reviewing, I would appreciate it if you took a second to review because they make me so happy. In case you are wondering then I wanted to let you know that things will be speeding up after this. Also, in the next chapter there will be more of an explanation as to why Sara told Alex about her past and Catherine and Alex will be reunited. 


	12. Chapter 12

Thanks to my beta, Camilla Sandman.

* * *

Greg was walking past the locker room when he heard someone muttering something and then slam a locker door shut. He decided to take a minute to check who it was. Entering the room, he saw Sara sitting on the bench, her head hanging down. She didn't seem to notice his presence so he cleared his throat to get her attention. 

"Oh, hey Greg. How's Alex?" she asked, standing up.

"She's fine," he said, walking closer to her. "I'm going to call Catherine for her, but right now I'm worried about you."

"Thanks, Greg, but I'm okay," she said, hoping her voice didn't sound as shaky as she felt.

"Sara, I…" Greg started but stopped, unsure of what to say to her after what she just told him and Alex. "I don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything," she said, grabbing her bag off the floor, clearly getting ready to leave the room.

"Sara," he said, concern evident in his voice. "I've thought we've gotten closer."

"We have. You've been a great friend, Greg. It's just…" she said, taking a breath to calm herself. "I can't do this right now."

Before he could say anything else, she rushed past him. Greg followed her out and saw her nearly collide with Nick, who was stepping out of the elevator.

"Hey, where's the fire?" Nick asked.

"Nowhere," was all she said as she brushed past him, the elevator doors slamming shut behind her before he could push the point further.

Nick turned to see Greg watching him. Walking up to him, he asked, "What was that all about? Is she okay?"

"I don't think so."

"Why? What happened?" Nick asked.

"I think she should be the one to tell you," Greg replied. "I don't think she should be alone right now. I would go, but I told Alex I would call Catherine for her.

"Yeah, I'll go check what I found into the evidence lockup and go find her," Nick said, getting worried over what was upsetting Sara.

Greg headed towards the break room to make the call to Catherine. He had no idea what he was going to say to her, but he promised Alex he would call and didn't want her to wait any longer. Taking a seat on one of the couches, he dialed Catherine's number.

"Hello," Catherine answered.

"Hi Catherine. It's Greg."

"Hi Greg. I guess you know about Alex," Catherine said, sounding a little apprehensive.

"Yeah. Grissom told Sara and me."

"Is she okay? Is something wrong?"

"She's fine, but I am calling because of her."

"Okay," Catherine said, wondering why he was the one calling her.

"I'm not sure how to ask you this, but I told Alex I would, so I'm just going to say it. Alex wants to meet you, but she's afraid you don't want to be her mom, and she said if you don't, then she doesn't want to see you. So, she wanted me to ask you if you do and if the answer is yes, then when can she meet you?"

Catherine was stunned and rendered speechless for a few moments before she whispered. "Yes…Yes, of course I want to be her mother."

"That's great. Alex will be really happy to hear that."

"Greg?"

"Yeah?"

"Would she want to come over here now?" Catherine asked, hoping the answer would be yes. She didn't know if she could wait that long now, knowing that Alex wanted to meet her.

"I'll have to ask her, but I'm pretty sure she will. I'll go ask her now, and if she doesn't, then I'll call you back. Otherwise, I'll bring her over as soon as she's ready."

"Thanks, Greg. I don't know if I'll ever be able to thank you enough for what you're doing for us."

"It's not a problem," Greg told her sincerely. "We'll see you soon."

"Okay, bye," Catherine said before hanging up.

When Greg walked back into the room where Alex was waiting, she looked at him. Her expression clearly showing the question she was longing to ask. "Did she…did she…What did she say?" she finally let out in a rushed breath.

"She said yes, and she wants you to come over as soon as you want to."

"Really?" Alex questioned, not quite able to believe her mom really wanted to meet her and be a part of her life. She had waited for this moment for so long.

"Yes," Greg replied, all smiles.

Alex let out a squeal of happiness as she jumped up and ran over to Greg, embracing him. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," he laughed.

"Can you take me to her house now?" she asked, a big smile forming on her face.

"Yeah. Let's go," Greg said, putting an arm around her shoulder as they left the building.

* * *

After Catherine had hung up the phone, Warrick walked back into the room. "Who was it?" he asked, wondering what had caused the blank look on her face. 

"It was Greg. He's going to bring Alex over here," she told him.

"Now?" Warrick asked, taking a seat next to Catherine.

"Yup."

"When are you going to tell Lindsey?"

"Um…I haven't thought about that yet," she said, pausing for a moment. "I guess I'll tell her when she gets home tomorrow. She went away for the weekend with her friend Lisa and her family. She's supposed to be home for dinner tomorrow. I should have told her sooner. I don't know how she'll react."

"She might be mad at you for not telling her earlier, but there's nothing you can do about that now. She's a great kid, and she's smart. I think she'll forgive you and understand why she didn't tell her," Warrick said, trying to reassure her.

"Yeah, and I'll have to tell her about us too. I don't want her to find out some other way."

"Do you want me to wait with you?" he asked, not sure if she would want him there when Alex arrived.

"Yes, if you want to. I think I would go nuts waiting for her on my own."

"Okay then. I'll stay as long as you want me too."

"Thanks, Rick," she said, turning to look him in the eye.

He said nothing in reply, instead choosing to close the distance between them, capturing her lips with his. It started out as a soft tender kiss, but quickly intensified. A few minutes later they broke apart, a little bereft of breath. He wrapped his arm around her waist and she snuggled up against him, feeling comfort from the warmth of his body. They stayed like that for a while, no need for words and content with each other, until the doorbell rang.

* * *

Nick was worried about Sara. Pulling into a parking spot in front of her apartment, he was still trying to think of what could have made her brush him off like that. He hoped it was because they were at work and not that she was angry with him for some unknown reason. He knocked on her door, and a few moments later she opened it. 

"Hey, Nick. Come on in," she said, taking a step back so he could get by her. "Not that I don't want you here, but what are you doing here?"

"I came by to check up on you, and to see if you're okay. The way you ran out of the lab before had me worried. What happened?" he asked. He could tell she had been crying.

"Greg didn't tell you?" she asked, figuring Greg would have told Nick what happened.

"No, he said you should be the one to tell me. He's worried about you too. So, what happened?" Nick asked, determined to get an answer, but trying not to push her too much at the same time.

"It's a long story," she said, walking further into her apartment.

"I've got time," he replied, taking a seat to emphasize his point. "I'm not going anywhere until you tell me. I care about you Sara, so please, tell me."

She looked at him and could tell by the expression on his face that he really wasn't going to let her get away with not telling him. It was not a story she was particularly fond of telling, but somehow, she felt he had earned the right to know.

Taking a deep breath, she plunged into it, telling him the story of Sara Sidle – how her father had been abusive, how her mother had ended it, hoe the years in foster care had gone. By the time she had gotten to her conversation with Alex and Greg, she was crying. But strangely, it felt almost good to, as if a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders.

"Sara, I'm so sorry," Nick said, rubbing circles on her back to try to calm her. "Why didn't you tell any of us before?"

"I don't know. I knew it would come out eventually, but it was hard to think about, let alone actually telling someone. When I was watching Alex and Greg talking, I saw so much of myself in Alex. I knew what she was going through and how painful it can be. I thought it would help her to talk to someone who went through something similar to her. I know I would have wanted someone to talk to," Sara explained, turning to Nick.

"I'm sure she appreciates it," Nick said, taking her in his arms, feeling her body trembling against his.

Several minutes later, Sara seemed to have calmed down, so Nick asked, "Does anyone besides Alex and Greg know about your past?"

"Only Grissom. He came over here after I yelled at Catherine, and got suspended. He wanted to know why I always got worked up about cases that involved domestic abuse," Sara said quietly, resting her head on Nick's shoulder. If it was anyone else she would have been embarrassed for breaking down like that. That was why she left work so quickly. But with Nick, it seemed different. She felt comfortable. It wasn't frightening, it didn't feel inappropriate, it was just…Love? With a small jolt, she realized she might be falling for him

Nick was happy that Sara trusted him enough, and felt comfortable enough with him to confide in him. He knew it was early, but couldn't stop himself from thinking that their relationship might be of the lasting kind. He smiled, daring a thought that maybe he was falling in love with this woman in his arms. Pulling back slightly, he met her gaze and saw the same desire he felt reflected in her eyes. It gave him enough confidence to make his next move. He raised his hands to cup her face, leaning in to kiss her.

Sara eagerly returned his kiss and things began to heat up quickly. When Nick snaked his arms around her waist, she reached up behind his head, pulling him down on top of her. Nick slid his hands up the front of her shirt and pulled back from her in order to pull it over her head.

Seeing where things were headed, he thought it was best to make sure Sara was ready for this. He wanted her badly, but he would be willing to wait if she wasn't ready, and he didn't want to ruin what they had. "Are you sure you want this?"

"Yes," was all she said, reaching up to unbutton his shirt. He could tell she was being truthful from her hungry look at him as she unbuttoned his shirt.

Following her lead, he reached down to undo her pants, but she paused him with a small push. He gave her a slightly confused look, but it quickly disappeared after she said, "Let's go to bed, and this time I don't mean to sleep." Clothes were haphazardly discarded as they made their way down the hall.

An hour later, they lay tangled together, enjoying the sensation of skin to skin and feeling very satisfied. Nick let out a sigh, pulling her a little closer and spooning her, making her smile. Within a few minutes, they gave into their exhaustion and fell into a peaceful sleep.

* * *

Greg pulled his car to a stop in front of Catherine's house. Turning to look at Alex, he asked her, "Are you ready?" 

"As ready as I'll ever be," Alex declared.

"Do you want me to wait out here?" he asked.

"Can you come with me?" she countered.

"Sure," he said, exiting the vehicle, walking around and opening her door.

"Thanks," Alex said, taking his outstretched hand in hers. She held on tight as they walked up to the front door, almost as if his hand was her lifeline. She took a few deep breaths, thinking they might help calm her nerves, but it didn't seem to do much good. Her hands were trembling as she reached up to ring the doorbell. Right before she pressed it, she glanced over to Greg and he gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. As soon as she pressed it, she let her hand fall, almost as if it had burned her.

It seemed like an eternity to Alex, but it was only a matter of seconds before she heard movement on the other side of the door. It was Warrick who opened the door. Catherine was standing a little behind him in the hallway, staring at Alex, and Alex doing the same in return. Both seemed to be in shock, unable to move or speak, paralyzed by their emotions. Warrick was the first to say something. "Why don't you guys come inside?"

Greg guided Alex in with his hand on her back, and Warrick closed the door behind them.

After another minute or so of silence Alex finally spoke. "Mom," she whispered, barely audible, but Catherine heard and it seemed to jolt her out of her shock.

"Alexandra," Catherine replied, closing the distance between them within a few short steps.

"Mom," Alex repeated as Catherine embraced her. When she felt her mom's arms around her, she broke down, her body shaking and tears rapidly falling.

Catherine, also crying, whispered in Alex's ear, "Its okay, Alex. Everything's going to be okay."

A short time later, when they both had stopped crying, they stepped apart. "Do you want to come in and talk for a bit?" Catherine asked, unsure of what to say next.

"Yeah," Alex said quietly, sniffling and wiping at her tear stained face. Catherine led the way into the living room, realizing Greg and Warrick must have stepped outside without her noticing, probably to give her and Alex some time alone.

"I'm so sorry, Alex," Catherine said, having a seat next to Alex. "I know about some of what you've been through, and I can't help but think if I hadn't given you up you wouldn't have had to go through that."

"No, stop. Don't say that," Alex said, looking at her mother. "It's not your fault. You had no way of knowing what was going to happen to me. You made the hardest decision anyone could ever make. I can't tell you how thankful I am that you were brave enough and strong enough to make that decision. You gave me to people that were amazing parents. I can't and I don't blame you for anything that happened after that."

"Thank you," Catherine said, reaching for a box of tissues on the coffee table. "Do you need one?"

"Thanks," Alex said, taking a couple of tissues. She imagined she looked like a mess.

"You probably have a lot of questions for me," Catherine said. "Please, feel free to ask me anything you want to know."

"You don't mind?"

"Not at all."

"Okay, um…" Alex said. "I'm not sure where to start."

"Anywhere you like," Catherine said, resting an arm across her shoulders to reassure her.

"Well, you probably already know I hired an investigator to find you, but he couldn't find my father," Alex paused for a moment. "Do you know who he is?"

* * *

A/N: Sorry for the cliffhanger but I haven't used one in a while, so I figured it would be okay. I'm sorry for taking so long to update but it's been a rough couple of weeks. You can read my profile if you want to know more. Thanks again for continuing to read and review this. The reviews make me so happy. The next chapter will be up quicker this time. Thanks again for the reviews  


	13. Chapter 13

Thanks to my beta, Camilla Sandman. She helps me so much with improving my writing.

* * *

After taking a minute to regroup herself, Catherine said, "Yes, I do know who he is, but I don't know much about him. I'm sorry." 

"That's okay," Alex said. "What do you know about him?"

"His name is Ryan. I met him at the nightclub I worked at. I was a stripper and he was a regular. He always tipped well, and one night after I was done, he waited for me outside. He was a good-looking guy. He asked me back to his place, and one thing led to another. I never saw him again after that night. When I found out I was pregnant with you, I tried to find out his last name and where he lived, but I never did."

"Oh," Alex said quietly, looking down at the ground. He couldn't quite hide her disappointment.

"I'm sorry I don't have anything else to tell you," Catherine told her. "A couple of months later when I began to show and couldn't work anymore, I got scared. I was eighteen, and on my own. That's when I realized I had to give you up, no matter how much it hurt. I knew you deserved a better life then I could give you. When I met the Kesslers, I could tell they would be great parents."

"They were," Alex whispered, trying to stop herself from crying again.

That sat in silence for a moment, both in their own thoughts, before Alex asked another question. "How did you become a CSI?"

"Another one of the regulars at the club was a cop. Strange as it sounds, he was a good friend of mine. He would tell me about the case he was working on and ask me who I thought the perp was. He encouraged me to g back to school, and it didn't take him long to convince me. For the next two years I continued to work at the club so I could save some money, and during the day I took some classes at UNLV. Then when I had saved up enough, I quit working at the club, and got a job as a waitress while I finished school. I graduated with honors and was hired at the crime lab almost immediately."

While Catherine spoke, Alex noticed a picture frame that held two pictures, sitting on the coffee table. Looking at it more closely, she noticed it held two pictures. One was of a little girl that looked to be around three years old, and the other was of the same girl, but a couple years older. "Is that Lindsey?" she asked.

Catherine saw what Alex was looking at and reached for the pictures. "Yes, it is," she told Alex, holding them in her lap.

"Does she know about me?" Alex asked.

"No, the first person I told was Warrick, and that was only yesterday."

"Oh, okay," Alex said, still looking at the pictures Catherine was holding. She couldn't help but wonder how different her life would have been if Lindsey's life had been hers. "Where is she now?"

"She went away with a friend for the weekend. She'll be here tomorrow night. I plan on telling her then."

"How do you think she'll react?"

"To tell you the truth, I have no idea. She's been though a lot, just like you. My ex-husband, her father, died in car accident they both were in a few years ago. She acted out for a while after that, but ever since she started at Butterfield Academy, she's been better. She might be angry at first that I didn't tell her, but I think she'll be happy to have a big sister."

"That's good. I've always wanted a younger sister. She's thirteen now?"

"Yeah, just last month," Catherine said, standing up, and walking over to a shelf where there was more pictures. She reached up to take one down, smiling at the memories it evoked. "This one is her latest school picture, and that one I took this past fall when she was cheerleading at a football game."

"She's a cheerleader?" Alex asked, hesitantly coming over and touching a frame. It felt a little strange now that a moment she'd fantasized about for such a long time was happening.

"She wanted to fit in when she started at the new school, so she tried out."

"That's cool. I was a cheerleader at the high school I went to when I lived in the group home, but I switched schools when I moved in with the Millers, and I had missed tryouts."

Putting the photo back up on the shelf, Catherine took another one down. Her hands shook a little as she held it, and a strange look passed over her face. She didn't say anything right away, so Alex asked, "Are they baby pictures of Lindsey?"

"One of them is. The other one is you."

"Really?" Alex was more than a little surprised.

"Yeah, it's one of the few I had of you. I think everyone must have assumed it was Lindsey since you looked a lot alike when you were babies. No one ever asked, so I never said anything," Catherine told her, blinking away a few fresh tears. "I thought about you everyday. I wondered what you were doing, and what you looked like."

"I thought about you, too," Alex said quietly, breaking down again. She cursed her lack of control, but it all felt so overwhelming and she was so, so tired.

Catherine took her in her arms, holding her tight. "I'm here now. Don't worry. I'm never going to let you go again. I'll always be here for you," Catherine whispered in her ear, trying not only to calm Alex, but herself too.

"I…I…I love you Mom," Alex choked out in between sobs.

"I love you too, Alex," Catherine said, losing control over her own emotions, and letting her tears fall freely. She had waited so long to hear and say those words.

Despite all, it didn't take them too long to calm down. Pulling back, Catherine affectionately brushed Alex's hair away from her tear-stained face, and motioned towards the couch. As they sat, Catherine asked, "Would you want to stay here for awhile? With me and Lindsey?"

"You mean, move in?" Alex asked, surprised. She certainly hadn't expected this much this fast.

"If you want to. I know you have your own place, but I think it would be a good way for Lindsey and me to get to know you better. You can have the spare room. Lindsey helped me pick out all new furniture when we redecorated it a couple months ago, but you can change whatever you want. I want you to feel at home."

"I would like that. I haven't had a place to call home in a long time. I've lived so many places, but no where ever really felt like home. Plus, I want to know more about you and Lindsey, too," Alex said. "Does Warrick live here?"

'What?" Catherine asked, caught off guard by the question.

"You are dating him, right?" Alex asked, a little unsure she had been reading things right. "Or did I misinterpret things?"

"Um…well, we just started seeing each other the other day."

"Oh, it seemed like you two have been together for a long time. You like him a lot, don't you?"

"Yeah, I do. He's a great guy, and he's good with Lindsey. I'm sure you'll like him too."

"If I'm going to move in, then I should get my stuff from my apartment," Alex said, changing the topic suddenly, feeling a little uncomfortable prodding too much into Catherine's life yet. It was hard to resist the urge to cram years of lost time into one evening.

"You can borrow some clothes from me tonight, and get your stuff tomorrow."

"All right, I'll go tomorrow before Lindsey comes home, so you can talk to her alone. And, I'll need some time to pack."

"Okay, then I'll call you when she's ready to meet you."

"I can't wait," Alex said, smiling slightly for the first time in days.

"Are you hungry? I don't have much to eat here, so we can go somewhere if you want to."

"That sounds good. Can Greg come with us?

"Sure, let's go ask him and Warrick if they want to come with us. I think they're out front," Catherine said, leading the way out the front door. They found Warrick and Greg sitting on the bench on the porch, trying very hard not to look bored. "Are you guys hungry? We're going to head out for a bite to eat."

"Sounds good to me," Greg said. "I'm starving."

"You're always hungry," Warrick teased. This earned him a good-natured punch in the shoulder from Greg, who didn't deny the allegation still.

"Let's go guys, I'll drive," Catherine said, sounding every bit the boss.

As they walked to Catherine's car, Greg leaned over to Alex and asked, "How are you holding up?"

"I'm doing good. I'm doing really good," Alex said, smiling at him. Strangely, she felt she really meant it. It wasn't just a reassuring phrase. She really was good.

After a little bit of a disagreement in the car about where to eat, they settle on their usual diner. They made small talk while they ate, and Catherine was happy to see that Alex seemed to be comfortable spending time with Warrick. Already, she was beginning to see the phases of what might be her new family, but she didn't dare think too much of it. Not yet. When they got back to the house, Warrick and Greg left, leaving Catherine and Alex alone.

Walking in the door, placing her keys down on the end table, Catherine said, "Make yourself comfortable. I'm going to go to the bathroom, and then I'll be right back."

"Okay," Alex replied, heading towards the living room.

A little later, Catherine had finished freshening up a bit, and headed back to the living room, only to find Alex asleep on the couch. Her first thought was to wake her daughter and get her to the more comfortable bed, but Alex looked so peaceful she decided against it. Instead, she walked over to her, took the blanket off the back of the couch, spreading it out and pulling it up over Alex's shoulders. Pausing there, she brushed a few strands of hair away from Alex's face before standing up. She stood there for a moment, just watching her. She was about to walk away, and try to get some sleep herself, when Alex started to stir.

Noticing her mother hunched over her, Alex started to sit up, but Catherine halted her with a soft touch. "Why don't you try to get some sleep? I'll be right upstairs in my room if you need anything," Catherine told her.

"Okay," Alex mumbled, already closing her eyes. Her body was telling her it was tired, and she had no strength left to fight it off. She pulled the blanket tightly around her, letting her exhaustion take over. Within seconds, she was fast asleep.

Catherine walked into her room, kicked off her shoes, and fell on top of her bed. She knew she should try to get some sleep while she could, but her thoughts wandered to everything that has happened in the past couple of days. A week ago, she never would have thought so much could change in so short a time span. She now had Alex back in her life and had started a relationship with Warrick. She hoped Lindsey would be happy about both changes. Her mind was already buzzing with all of the possible ways to tell Lindsey, but her exhaustion won out before she could contemplate much and she fell asleep.

A few hours later, Catherine was woken up suddenly by a loud scream. She jumped out of bed without thinking, instincts taking over. "Alex! Are you okay?" she called out, running down the stairs. Not hearing a reply, her anxiety only increased, and she rushed into the living room. Alex was there, awake, but crying and gasping as she tried to catch her breath. A bad dream, Catherine guessed, and she sat down carefully and eased Alex into her arms.

Between gasps, Alex managed to say, "He…He was…He was there…and…and…so much blood…blood everywhere…I couldn't get away."

"Shhh, it's going to be okay, Alex," Catherine said, gently stroking Alex's hair. "It was just a nightmare. You're here now. You're safe."

As Catherine's comforting words started to sink in, and she began to remember where she was, Alex started to calm down. Eventually she pulled back, feeling a little embarrassed. "I'm sorry if I woke you up. You didn't have to come down here," she said, looking down.

"Look at me, Alex," Catherine said, pausing until Alex looked her in the eyes. "I'm your mother. I know this is new to you, but I'm going to be there for you whenever you need me, and I know I can't make up for the past twenty two years, but I'm going to try. Please let me do that."

The words didn't quite have the effect Catherine hoped. Alex only stared for a moment, before suddenly getting up and running out of the room.

Catherine got up and followed her, but was stopped abruptly when Alex slammed the bathroom door in her face. She could hear Alex crying on the other side of the door. Her heart broke, thinking of the pain Alex was suffering from. She waited a moment before quietly knocking on the door. "Alex, honey, please open the door."

After not hearing any sort of reply, Catherine tried again. "Alex, can you please open the door?"

"No! Go away! Leave me alone!" Alex shouted, her voice filled with anger. It was easier to feel angry than anything else right now. All too much, all too fast, after twenty years of nothing.

"Alex, I just want to help you," Catherine said. She was startled when the door flew open to reveal Alex standing there, glaring back at her.

"You want to help me?" Alex asked, trying to hold back any more tears, but was unsuccessful in doing so. "If you want to help me, then you can tell me why. Why did you give me up? Why did you give me up and keep Lindsey? Why did you keep her and not me?"

Catherine knew these questions would be coming, but she still felt unprepared for answering them. "Alex, I'm not sure what to say. There's no simple explanation."

"Just try to," Alex said bitterly. "I deserve to know, and you told me I could ask you anything."

"You're right, Alex. You do deserve answers, and I want to tell you," Catherine said, stepping forward to put an arm around Alex. When Alex didn't back away she took it as a good sign. "Let's go sit down."

Alex didn't say anything as she let Catherine lead the way into a bedroom. Alex assumed it was the spare room Catherine had told her about since she saw no personal items. They sat down on the bench at the foot of the bed.

"Alex," Catherine began, feeling a bit like she was navigating carefully through a minefield. "I told you how much it hurt for me to give you up. I didn't want to do it. I looked into everything I could do that would help us if I kept you, but there wasn't much. I couldn't afford to live in a safe neighborhood, and I didn't want anything to happen to you. I wouldn't have been able to pay for a babysitter when I worked. When I got my first ultrasound done, and I saw you on the screen, it made me realize that I need to do what was best for you, not matter how much I didn't want to. I stared at the printout from the ultrasound for days. It broke my heart to know that I couldn't keep you, and that I couldn't give you the life you deserved."

"How did you get my baby pictures?" Alex asked, considering what she had been told. There was obvious hurt in Catherine's voice, and that softened her somewhat.

"Your adoption was open," Catherine explained. "The Kesslers and I agreed that they would send me pictures, and tell me how you were doing. Each month they sent me a picture of you with a letter telling me about new things you had done. Each time they sent me them, I would get really depressed. I didn't leave the house for days, and would cry myself to sleep. After about six months, I decided I couldn't take it anymore, and I asked them to stop sending them. It was too hard to see your picture and read about what I was missing out on."

Alex felt slightly better at Catherine opening up about it, but there were still some nagging doubts in her mind that were coming t force now that the immediate joy of just finding Catherine had subsided. "Why do you want me now? You already have Lindsey," Alex questioned, crossing her arms as if she was trying to protect herself.

"Alex, I have always wanted you. When I had Lindsey, I was married, and able to support her. If I could've, I would've taken you back, but that wouldn't have been fair to you or the Kesslers. Plus, I signed away my rights when I signed the adoption papers. You were nine when Lindsey was born. I didn't want to upset you by coming back into your life all of a sudden. I figured if you wanted, when you were older, you would contact me."

"I would have tried to find you sooner, but no one would help me, and I didn't have any money to do it on my own. The Millers didn't let me use their money, so I had to be careful taking money out of the account they gave me. Any time I took out a large amount of money out, they wanted to know what it was for. It took a while for me to save enough to pay the investigator," Alex explained.

"I wish I could have been there for you. You've been through so much, and…" Catherine paused, unsure of what to say next. She looked, over at Alex, who finally returned the gaze without hostility.

"It's okay. At least you're here for me now," Alex said.

Briefly, they embraced again, Catherine letting out a long, shuddering breath. After a few seconds, they pulled apart. "Do you feel up to watching a movie? I could order us some pizza, if you're hungry," Catherine said.

"I'm not really that hungry," Alex said.

"How about we go downstairs and you can pick out a movie. We can order something when you get hungry," Catherine suggested.

"All right, that sounds good."

It was a few hours later when Catherine noticed Alex was almost constantly yawning. "You look beat," Catherine informed her. "How about you go upstairs before you fall asleep on the couch again?"

"Okay," Alex replied, yawning again as she stood up. "Do you have any clothes I can borrow to sleep in?"

"Of course, and there's an extra toothbrush in the drawer in the bathroom," Catherine told her. "Come on, let's go upstairs. I'll show you around quickly, then you can go to sleep."

Tour finished, Alex changed her clothes and sat down on the edge of the bed of what was now her room. She lifted the bag up on her lap, debating whether now would be a good time to give her mom the letter she wrote. She decided it was, and headed towards Catherine's room. Upon knocking and not getting a reply, she simply walked in and found the room empty. Guessing that Catherine was in the bathroom, she put the letter down on the pillow, and left the room.

Catherine noticed the letter the moment she walked in, having finished a shower. She picked it up, and saw on the front of it said "Catherine Willows" in plain black type. She flipped it over. On the back, in neat handwriting was written "Mom, I thought you would still like to read this even though we've already met. Love, Alex." After sitting down, she took out the letter and began to read it.

_Dear Mom,_

_I hope to call you that in person soon. My name is Alexandra Miller and I'm the daughter that you gave up for adoption. I wanted to write this letter before I contacted you any other way. I figured it would be less painful this way, incase you didn't want to meet. I hired a private investigator to find you. I have wanted to find you for so long._

_As you know, I'm now twenty-two years old. I just finished my third year at UNLV. I am contacting you because I want to know more about you. My adoptive parents, the Kesslers, were killed in a car accident when I was ten. I went to live with my aunt for a little bit, but she got ill and I had to go into foster-care. I am now living with Joe and Silvia Miller._

_If you want to contact me, you can call the number or write to the address below. If not, I'm sorry that I bothered you, and I won't contact you again._

_Alexandra Catherine Miller_

Catherine was in tears by the time she had finished reading the letter. She immediately got up to go see Alex. When she saw that Alex was asleep, she quietly gave her a kiss on her forehead. "I love you, Alex," she whispered.

* * *

A/N: Please read and review! I know was messed up last time I updated, so some of you couldn't review. I hope you all liked this chapter. I now have less than a month left until my last final and I'm feeling the time crunch, so I'm sorry for not updating that quickly. My profile gives more of an explanation. Since it has taken me longer than I wanted to post this chapter, I made it longer. It's over 3,300 words! My longest chapter yet. Please continue to read and review. The next chapter will be getting back to the case and Lindsey comes home. 


	14. Chapter 14

Thanks to my beta, Camilla Sandman.

* * *

The next morning Catherine was standing in the kitchen, making a pot of coffee. She was going to need it to get through the day ahead of her. Both she and Alex hadn't managed to sleep much. Alex had woken up three times during the night due to more nightmares. Catherine had gone to comfort her each time. Alex had told her she didn't need to, but Catherine had refused to leave her. So now she felt a bit like a truck had run over her, her body tired and crying out for sleep. Pressing the start button on the coffee pot, she checked her watch, and saw it was only a little before nine. She decided to let Alex sleep for a while longer since Lindsey wasn't due home for another eight or nine hours. 

The doorbell rang just as she was reaching into the fridge to start on breakfast, she wondered who it was this early. She hoped it was Warrick stopping by on his way home from work. Opening the door, she was surprised to see Sara and Nick.

"Hi guys," she said to them. "Do you want to come in? I just put a fresh pot of coffee on."

"Sure, thanks," Sara said before she and Nick followed Catherine into the kitchen.

After giving Nick and Sara their coffee, Catherine sat down at the table across from them. "Not that I mind you two stopping by, but it's a little early for a social visit."

"We came over to see how you and Alex are doing, but you're right, we aren't here just to talk," Nick told Catherine. "There's been a development with the case."

Catherine didn't need to ask which case he was referring to, so instead she asked, "What kind of development?"

"We have a suspect," Sara told her.

"Who?" Catherine asked. It was hard to make her voice sound natural, her mind already filled with implications of what this might mean for Alex.

"Jason Kline," Nick informed her. "He was pulled over for speeding, and the officer recognized him from the wanted poster. He's at PD right now, demanding to see his lawyer before he talks. They can only hold him a few more hours on the speeding ticket, so we need Alex to come down to ID him before they have to let him go. Is she awake yet?"

"No, she's still asleep. It was a rough night last night," Catherine said, covering her mouth as she yawned.

"How is she doing?" Sara asked.

"She's okay, but neither of us got much sleep," Catherine said. "I'll go wake her up."

"I'm already awake," Alex said. Nick, Sara, and Catherine turned to see her standing in the doorway to the kitchen. She was still in her pajamas, and her hair looked like she hadn't brushed it yet.

Catherine got up and went over to her. "How are you feeling?" she asked, her voice full of concern.

"I'm fine," Alex said quietly, running a hand through her hair. "What's going on?"

"They think they found the man who attacked you and the Millers," Catherine told her, watching her face intently.

"They did?" Alex questioned, surprised they already caught him.

"We need you to come view a lineup if you feel up to it," Nick said.

"It shouldn't take long," Sara added, noticing that Alex didn't look that good. It was hard for her not to look at the dark bruises on Alex's arms and the bandage on her left forearm, which protected the stitches.

"Okay, but I don't have anything to wear," Alex said, turning to look at Catherine. "Can I borrow something else from you?"

"Sure, let's go to my room and you can pick something out," Catherine told her. They went to the bedroom, while Nick and Sara exchanged glances. They were both wondering just how strong Alex was at the moment.

Catherine rejoined Nick and Sara in the kitchen while they waited for Alex to get ready. The silence was a little awkward, with much to be said and no one quite sure how to bring it up. Finally, Catherine spoke up.

"Sara," she started. "I want to thank you for talking to Alex yesterday. She told me what you told her, and I'm sorry to hear about what you went through."

"I know how much I wished I had someone to talk to when I was going through it, so I was glad I could be there for her," Sara said.

Sensing that Sara didn't want to talk in great detail about it, and remembering how she had kept her past a secret for a long time, Catherine decided to change the subject. "Warrick told me he walked in on you two doing a little more than just talking in the locker room the other night," she said, smiling at the pair.

"He told you?" Nick asked, wondering when Warrick had time to tell her with how busy they have been.

"Yup, so when did you two start dating?" Catherine asked. "Or were you just brushing up on your mouth to mouth technique?"

"Um…" Sara said, unsure of how to answer.

Nick spoke up for her. "Since the night before he saw us. When did he tell you?" he asked.

"That night after he saw you," Catherine replied.

"He came to your house just to tell you about us?" Sara asked.

"No, he was…"Catherine said, stopping when she realized how her answer already sounded. She decided it didn't matter though. If Nick and Sara were dating, they couldn't really object much to her and Warrick. "He gave me a ride home, to his place."

"So that's why he was in such a rush to get home," Nick said, grinning knowingly.

"I don't think he knew I was waiting by his car until he saw me there," Catherine said, stopping when she noticed Alex come back into the room. "Are you ready to go?"

"As ready as I can be," Alex replied. She did look slightly better, having gotten the chance to take a shower. She was wearing one of Catherine's t-shirts and a pair of shorts since Catherine's pants were too short for her.

Catherine put an arm around Alex's shoulders, leading the way out of the house. "You're strong Alex. You can do this," Catherine said, trying to reassure Alex.

Alex didn't reply as she got into the car. Silently she stared out the window, watching her new home as they backed out of the driveway.

The closer they got to the station, the more nervous Alex got. She began twisting her hands together, thinking about what she was about to do. She was worried about being able to ID the right guy. What if she couldn't do it and the case collapsed? What if she could, and he would know it was her?

Pulling into a parking spot, Catherine turned off the engine. Turning to see Alex, she saw her staring straight ahead with a blank look on her face. "Whenever you're ready, we can head inside," Catherine said, trying to get Alex's attention.

"What if I don't ID the right guy, and he gets away and tries to hurt me again?" Alex asked, looking at Catherine.

Seeing the worry in Alex's eyes, and knowing this was going to be hard for her no matter what the outcome was, Catherine tried to calm her down. "They're not even sure they have the right guy. The one officer thought he looked like your sketch, so they brought him in. Don't worry about it, if you don't see the guy that attacked you, then just tell the truth. As long as you do that, you will be fine."

"Okay, but what if he's not there? He has to know I'm still alive," Alex said, a lump forming in her throat. "The sketch has been all over the news."

"How about we think about that if we have to? There is still a chance he will be there," Catherine said. "Let's go inside."

Without more said, they left the car and Catherine led the way into PD. She and Alex didn't say anything else until Alex noticed Greg talking with Sara, Nick and Warrick in the hallway. "What are you all doing here?" Alex asked.

"I'm here to support you," Greg told her, giving her a quick hug.

"Thanks," Alex said, trying to keep her composure. "But you didn't all have to come."

"We wanted to," Warrick said. "And we wanted to make sure you know that we care about you."

Brass approached the group and said, "Hi Alex. Thanks for coming in. Everything is set up, so whenever you're ready, you can view the lineup."

"I just want to get this over with," Alex said.

"You can follow me," Brass said, his voice reassuring.

Catherine embraced Alex, whispering in her ear, "I'll be right here when you're done."

"I know," Alex whispered in return. She turned away, following Brass down the hall. Right before she entered the room Brass was holding the door open to, she turned back to look at everyone. The sight comforted her. They were all there, and for her. She took a deep breath, and went in. She jumped slightly when she heard the door close behind her. The only other person she saw in the room was a man whom she assumed was a lawyer.

"Alex, when I flip the switch, you will see six men. Each one will be holding a number. I'll have each one step forward. Take as much time as you need to look at them. If you need one of them to turn, let me know," Brass told her. "Are you ready?"

Alex nodded her head, and taking a deep breath, she stepped in front of the window. Brass flipped the switch, telling the men to step forward on at a time. Alex looked at them closely. When the fourth one took a step forward, almost simultaneously, she took a small step back. She felt her stomach starting to turn. "That's…That's …That's him," Alex said, unable to look away.

"Where did you see him?" Brass asked. He knew what she meant, but he had to ask so his lawyer couldn't try to get the ID thrown out in court because procedure hadn't been followed.

"He's the man who killed Joe and Silvia Miller, and attacked me," Alex said quickly, turning her head sharply to look at Brass. "Can I go now?"

"Yes, you're done," Brass said, waiting for Alex to leave the room. As soon as she did, he pressed a button and said, "Take number four into custody. The rest are free to go."

When Alex heard Brass say yes, she ran as fast as she could out of the room.

Hearing the door open, Catherine, Warrick, Nick, Sara, and Greg turned just in time to see Alex run out of the room, and bend over a trashcan. Alex threw up the little she has managed to eat that morning. Catherine approached her quickly, placing a comforting hand on her back. "It's going to be okay, Alex. It's over now," she said.

When she was finished emptying her stomach, Alex stood up, taking the tissue Greg held out for her, and wiped her mouth. She threw it in the trashcan, looked up at Greg, and broke down. Taking a step closer to Greg, she buried her head in his chest, clinging to his shirt like her life depended on it. He body trembled as he held her tightly against him.

Everyone except Alex looked at Brass when they heard him approach.

Knowing the question they all wanted answered, he said, "She did it. We got him."

Hearing Brass's announcement, Greg hugged Alex tighter.

Catherine reached over, giving Alex's shoulder a squeeze. "How about we get out of here?" she asked.

Alex pulled away from Greg, and wiped her eyes with her hands. "Okay," she replied, sniffling to try to stop herself from crying.

There were a few moments of silence before Catherine's cell phone rang. She looked down at it and seeing who it was, Catherine said to Alex, "It's Lindsey. Why don't you go wait outside with Greg?"

Replying with a nod, Alex walked away, Greg by her side.

The call didn't last long, and after she had finished it, Catherine left the building. Opening the door, she saw Greg and Alex sitting on a bench. As she approached them, she said, "Lindsey's coming home early. Her friend's dad is sick so they had to leave. She should be home in about an hour."

"Oh," Alex said, her mind still on what had happened inside.

"I know when we talked yesterday, that you said you would leave before Lindsey came home, but if you want to come home now with me, that would be okay," Catherine said, worried about leaving Alex at that moment.

"I'll take her to her apartment and stay with her. She told me she's moving in with you, so while I'm there, I'll help her pack," Greg said, shifting a bit so he could look at Alex. "If that's okay with you, Alex?"

"Of course it is. I would appreciate the help," Alex replied, standing up. "When should I come home?"

"I'll talk to Lindsey, and then I'll call you," Catherine said. "I'm not sure what time it will be."

"That's okay. I remember how the kids acted whenever I went to a new home," Alex said. "It's going to be a lot for her to take in and adjust to. I don't want her to feel like we're forcing her to meet me."

"So you'll be okay with Greg?" Catherine asked, wanting to make sure Alex would be alright after being through so much in a short time.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," Alex said, giving Catherine a quick hug.

"Good. I'll call you later," Catherine said. "I love you, Alex."

"I love you too, Mom," Alex said, giving a quick wave before Catherine walked away.

"Let's get going," Greg said, placing a hand on the small of Alex's back, guiding her towards his car.

Catherine headed home as well, and it was about half an hour later when she heard Lindsey come in. When Lindsey appeared in the doorway to the living room, Catherine placed the magazine she was flipping through, down on the end table. "How was your trip?" she asked, trying to delay telling Lindsey about Alex and Warrick for a moment.

"It was okay, but it stinks that we had to come home early. We were going to rent jet skis," Lindsey said. She sounded to be in a fairly good mood, something Catherine was sure would change fairly quickly once she had given the news

"Can you come sit down for a minute, Linds? There's something I need to talk to you about," Catherine said.

"Okay, but I'm not in trouble, am I?" Lindsey asked, picking up on the serious tone in her mom's voice as she took a seat next to Catherine. "I didn't do anything wrong."

"No, you're not in trouble," Catherine said gently.

"Then what is it?" Lindsey wondered, a million possibilities running through her head.

"There's no easy way to tell you, so I am just going to say it," Catherine said, looking at her daughter. It was impossible to say just what the reaction would be.

"You're starting to scare me, Mom," Lindsey said. "What's wrong? You're not sick or something, are you?"

"I'm fine, Linds," Catherine said, pausing a second before she finally broke the news. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you this sooner, but I have another daughter. You have an older sister."

"What?" Lindsey exclaimed. "What are you talking about?"

"I had a baby when I was nineteen, and I gave her up for adoption," Catherine told her.

"Why are you telling me now? Why didn't you keep it a secret forever?" Lindsey snapped, trying to process what she was just told.

"Something happened," Catherine paused, waiting to see if Lindsey was going to say anything else. Lindsey just sat there with an angry look on her face. "The couple she was living with was killed. She was there when it happened, but got away. Her name is Alexandra, and she is going to move in with us, but…"

Lindsey cut her off before she could finish what she was saying. "I can't believe you're telling me this!" she yelled, jumping off the couch.

"Lindsey," Catherine started, but was once again cut off.

"No! Just leave me alone!" Lindsey shouted, running out of the room, slamming her bedroom door and a moment later, angry music blasted through it.

Catherine didn't immediately go after her because she knew Lindsey would need some time to think about everything. Leaning back, she let out a heavy sigh. Now she only needed to figure out how to tell Lindsey the rest of the news without upsetting her again.

* * *

A/N: Please read and review! I hope you all liked this chapter. Please let me know if there is anything you want to see happen and I will try to fit it into what I have planned. I'm really sorry this took so long to get up but I have less than a week until my last final and I'm very stressed out about all I have to do. Please continue to read and review since reviews make me so happy! 


	15. Chapter 15

Thanks to my beta, Camilla Sandman.

* * *

"Do you want something to eat?" Nick asked, leading the way into his apartment, Sara close behind. 

"Sure, I haven't really had much since before shift."

He turned to face her, smiling. "Do you want some pancakes?"

"Sounds good," she replied, moving towards the kitchen.

"Where do you think you're going?" he asked, grabbing her from behind and locking her in his embrace. She turned to face him, a teasing smile on her lips.

"To help you make breakfast."

"I don't think so," he said decisively, capturing her lips with his before she could protest.

After trading a few slow, lazy kisses, they pulled apart. "You're going to sit and relax while I make you breakfast," he told her, giving her one more quick kiss.

Sara watched him walk away, and smiled to herself as she sat down on the couch. It was hard not to remember him in a state of significantly less clothing at times, which could be rather distracting, but she was happy things seemed to be going so well between them.

She was mindlessly flipping through the channels when Nick reappeared, stepping in front of her and offering his hand to help her up. "You ready to eat?"

"Smells good," she commented as he pulled her up, following him over to the table. "Looks good too."

"I found some frozen blueberries and added them in. They're not fresh like the ones my mom use, but they're close enough," he explained, pulling out a seat for her. She took it gratefully, and found herself smiling at all the effort he had gone to.

They ate in silence, but after finishing her portion, Sara placed her fork down on her plate and leaned back slightly. "That was really good."

"I'm glad you liked them," Nick said, smiling at her. He stood up and had starting to clear the table when Sara got up and stopped him.

"There's plenty of time for cleaning up later," she said, looking at him suggestively. "You don't have to be into work until I do. Remember?"

"Do you have any ideas for how we can pass the time?" he asked, placing the dish back down on the table, taking a step closer to her.

"I might have a few," she replied, closing the short distance left between them.

"Are you going to tell me or am I going to have to guess?" he asked, wrapping his arms around her.

"I think you should be able to figure out one of them," she whispered, her lips brushing against his as she spoke. She abruptly pushed herself away from him before continuing, "But, if you're not up to it we can just watch some TV or something."

Nick stood still for a moment, his mind reeling a bit from Sara's hints. Once he was able to think clearly, he realized Sara was standing between the couch and his bedroom door, waiting. "Um," was all he managed to get out.

Sara smiled, happy that her actions had the desired effect. "So, which is it? Bedroom or couch?" she asked, not breaking eye contact with him.

"Bedroom," he said quietly, following close behind her as she led the way.

* * *

Alex and Greg hadn't gotten much chance to talk once they arrived at her apartment. They had stopped on the way to pick up some boxes, and kept busy filling them. Finally, Greg took what he hoped was the last box to her car and headed back in. Boxes all filled, he hoped they could talk for a while before she went back to Catherine's. 

"Alex?" he called out, trying to find out which room she was in. "Is there anything else you want me to take down?" He didn't hear a reply so he headed towards her room, figuring it was the most likely place for her to be. He was about to call out to her again, but decided not to when he saw her laying on her bed, apparently asleep. Quietly, he started to back out of the room again, but stopped when she sat up.

"Go back to sleep," he told her. "You should try to get some rest."

"I wasn't sleeping," she replied, trying unsuccessfully to suppress a yawn. He was about to argue with her, but was cut off as she continued. "Do you really think I would be able to sleep right now?"

"I'm sorry. I just thought…"

"I know you're only trying to help. I didn't mean to snap at you like that. I should be the one apologizing," she said, looking up at him.

"Don't worry about it," he said, sitting next to her on the edge of the bed.

"I hate being like this."

"Like what?" he asked, unsure of what she meant.

"I hate all the uncertainty, my emotions are going haywire, one second I'm in the best mood, and the next I'm balling my eyes out," she tried to explain. She rubbed her eyes a little absentmindedly, and Greg could see the dark circles underneath.

"That's normal for what you've been through and are going through," he said, placing a comforting arm around her shoulder.

"I know, but I had hoped my mom would have called by now," she said quietly, leaning her head on his shoulder. "Then that would be one less thing to worry about. It's been over three hours. Now all I have left to do is sit here and wait."

"I'll be here as long as you want me to be," he said, hoping to reassure her a bit.

"Thanks. You don't know how much that means to me."

For a few moments, they sat together in silence.

"Alex?" Greg asked.

"Yeah," Alex said, tiredly.

"There's been something I've been meaning to ask you," he said, moving his arm down to her lower back.

"What is it?" she asked, picking her head up and shifting slightly to look at him.

"It's about my family," he started. "I haven't called them yet to tell them you're here. I wanted to wait to talk to you about it because I know they would be on the first flight and I didn't know if it would be too much for you yet."

"Oh," was all she said, fixing her gaze on the bedcovers, as if afraid to look at him.

"Do you still want me to call them?" he asked.

"Of course, but do you think you can get them to come without telling them about me?"

"I think I can manage that. They had mentioned coming for a visit soon. I will just tell them I have someone I want them to meet. They will assume it's my girlfriend, since they're always asking me if I'm seeing anyone."

"Thanks," she said, looking back up at him. "I think it will be easier if I see them in person."

"You're right. I don't think they would believe me if I told them over the phone," Greg said, letting out a small laugh.

"When do you think they can come?" Alex asked. She couldn't help but feel a sudden need to see them again, a reminder of happier times as they were.

"I'm not sure, but the last time I talked to them they didn't mention having to do anything anytime soon. I'm sure they will be able to come soon," he reassured her.

"Let me know as soon as you know when they're coming. I can't wait to see them. It's been so long, and… and… I never got to really say goodbye," she said, feeling tears sting her sore eyes again. She never did seem to run out of tears these days.

Greg took her in his arms, rubbing her back in an attempt to comfort her.

* * *

Catherine was happy the pounding music had stopped coming from Lindsey's room at last, but about an hour earlier, she only received an angry order to go away as a sign Lindsey hadn't snuck out and left. Feeling her daughter needed some space, she'd gone to her own room and laid down. She was still trying to nurse an oncoming headache when she heard a timid knock on the door. 

"Come in," Catherine called out.

The door slowly opened and Lindsey stepped into the room. "Mom?" she asked quietly.

"Lindsey, come on in," Catherine replied, motioning for Lindsey to sit next to her. They both didn't speak for a while, Catherine unwilling to push, and Lindsey not sure how to start.

Lindsey was the first to break the awkward silence when she said, "Mom, I'm sorry I ran out like that before."

"It's okay, honey, I'm not mad a you."

"You're not?" Lindsey asked, turning to look at her mother with a surprised look on her face.

"No, I'm just happy you're talking to me now," Catherine said. "I thought I would get the silent treatment for a longer time. I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. You deserved to know you have a sister."

"You said she was moving in with us?" Lindsey asked.

"Yes, she's at her apartment right now with Greg, packing some of her things," Catherine replied.

"When is she coming here?"

"Whenever you're ready to meet her. I know this is a lot to take in, so when you're ready, you can let me know," Catherine said, breathing a big sigh of relief.

"How did you find her?" Lindsey asked, obviously curious.

"Do you remember me telling you about that serial killer case I was working on?" Catherine asked. Lindsey nodded before she continued. "The other night another couple was attacked, and they were the couple Alex was living with. When we were working the crime scene, Nick and Sara found her in the woods behind the house. I didn't see her then, but the next day she came here."

"Was she hurt?" Lindsey asked.

"She got some cuts and bruises and needed some stitches, but otherwise those were her only injuries," Catherine said, not feeling the need to share any other details about what happened to Alex. If Alex wanted, she could share it with Lindsey herself.

Lindsey still had many questions. "Were the people she was living with, the people that adopted her?"

"No, I had given her to the Kesslers. When she was ten, they died in a car accident. She lived with an aunt for a short time, but then went into foster care. The Millers were the last family she lived with," Catherine explained.

"Oh," Lindsey said, trying to take in all her mother had told her. Suddenly she remembered something and asked, "Did you just say she lived with the Millers?"

"Yes," Catherine confirmed.

"Is her name Alexandra Miller?" Lindsey asked, getting excited.

"Yes," Catherine answered once again, wondering what Lindsey was trying to get at.

"Is she a model?"

"Yes, she told me she had done some modeling, but how did you…" Catherine started, but was cut off by Lindsey.

"Hold on a sec. I'll be right back," Lindsey said, jumping off the bed and running out of the room.

Catherine didn't have much time to wonder what Lindsey was getting work up over because less than a minute later she came running back into the room with a magazine in her hand.

"Is this her?" Lindsey questioned, holding out one of her latest teen magazines.

Catherine looked down at the magazine and was surprised to see Alex on the cover, wearing jeans shorts with a green halter top. 'She looks so happy,' Catherine thought to herself. She hoped that Alex would smile like that again one day, after this was all over. Oh, she hoped so very much, and she would do her best to ensure it.

"Mom? Is that her?" Lindsey asked again, getting impatient waiting for an answer.

Snapping out of her inner musings, Catherine said, "Yes, that's your sister."

"This is so cool!" Lindsey exclaimed. "Everyone at school is going to be so jealous when I tell them that Alexandra Miller is my sister. I can't wait to tell my friends, and to see the look on Trisha's face when I tell her. She is always so annoying and bragging about her new clothes or what her parents bought her. When can she come? Can you call her now and tell her to come?"

"Calm down, Lindsey, and slow down a second." Catherine said, surprised by Lindsey's enthusiasm. This wasn't the way she had pictured Lindsey reacting. "There's something else I want to tell you."

Catherine's last statement quieted Lindsey, and she sat down next to her mother again. "You're not going to tell me I have anymore brothers or sisters, are you?"

"No," Catherine laughed. "The only children I have are you and Alex."

"Okay, so then what is it?" Lindsey asked.

"You know Warrick and I have been good friends for a long time, right?"

"Yeah," Lindsey replied, prompting Catherine to continue.

"Well, we're dating now," Catherine said simply, figuring the direct approach was best.

"So, he's like your boyfriend now?" Lindsey asked.

"Yes," Catherine replied, trying to gauge her daughter's reaction. "Are you okay with that?"

"Of course," Lindsey said matter-of-factly. "He's cool, and it's about time you started dating him."

"What do you mean?" Catherine asked, feeling surprised again. It seemed she couldn't predict any of Lindsey's reactions properly today.

"I could always tell you two liked each other, and he always stays the longest when you have people over here from work," Lindsey said. "Can you call Alex now, and can I go call Lisa and Ashley?"

"Sure, go ahead. I'll let you know when she'll be here," Catherine said, letting out a big sigh of relief as soon as Lindsey had left the room. She felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Besides Lindsey's initial outburst, things had gone a lot smoother than she had thought they would. Lindsey knew, and didn't mind Alex coming over. Seemed excited about it, in fact.

That resolved, Catherine reached over to her nightstand, picked up the phone and dialed Alex's number.

"Hello," Alex answered.

"Hi, Alex," Catherine greeted. "I talked to Lindsey."

"How did it go?" Alex asked. She sounded slightly nervous.

"Great. Lindsey was upset at first, and locked herself in her room, but after a few hours she came out and we talked. She's really excited and can't wait to meet you."

"Really?"

"Yeah, she's calling her best friends right now to tell them. She showed me one of her magazines you were on the cover of and apparently, you're well known at her school. She already has it planned how she is going to tell everyone she knows," Catherine told her. "She wants you to come over as soon as you can."

"I'm happy to hear that," Alex said, and sounded it. "I already have my car packed, so I should be able to be there in about twenty minutes."

"That sounds good. The front door will be unlocked, so you can come right in," Catherine told her. "I love you, Alex."

"I love you too, Mom. I'll see you soon," Alex said.

"Okay, bye," Catherine replied, placing the phone back on the nightstand.

About twenty minutes later, Catherine and Lindsey were standing in the kitchen when they heard the front door open. They made their way to the front foyer, but Lindsey stopped when she saw Alex. She clearly wasn't sure how to approach.

"Hi, Lindsey," Alex said carefully, closing the door behind her, and setting her bags down.

"Hi," Lindsey said, remaining very still where she stood.

"Why don't you two go talk in the living room, and I'll get something started for dinner," Catherine suggested.

"Okay," Lindsey said, breaking out of the trance she had been in, leading Alex into the other room.

A while later, Catherine had poured the pasta into the drainer and decided to check on how things were going. But the sight greeting her in the living room made her pause in the doorway and just watch, feeling tears prick her eyes. Alex and Lindsey were sitting next to each other on the couch, talking and acting like they had known each other for years, instead of the actual thirty minutes they had.

* * *

A/N: I hope you all liked this chapter. If there is anything you really want to see happen, let me know and I will try to fit it in. Thanks so much to those that are still reading and an extra thanks to those who review. Reviews make me so happy! I appreciate everyone for being so patient with me. I know it has been forever since I updated but I have been dealing with a lot of stuff. Thanks again for sticking with me and please review! 


	16. Chapter 16

My beta was unavailable to help me with this chapter so all mistakes are mine.

* * *

Less than an hour into their shift, Warrick and Nick were walking down the hall at the lab when they noticed the light on in Catherine's office. "I'm going to see why she's here. I'll meet you in the layout room," Warrick said, motioning towards her office.

The two parted ways and Warrick entered Catherine's office. She stood with her back to him, going through some papers on her desk. "I thought you were taking some time off. What are you doing her?" he questioned, standing inside the doorway.

"Oh, hey," she replied, turning around. "I was just getting some paperwork to work on while I'm out."

"How are things going at home?" he asked. They have only talked briefly on the phone in the past few days since everything happened.

"Great, I couldn't ask for it to be any better. Lindsey and Alex are almost inseparable. They only have been apart when Lindsey went to school. I was going to let Lindsey stay home Monday, but she wanted to go so she could tell all her friends about Alex."

"I'm happy to hear things are going so well," he said, walking closer to her.

"Why don't you come over for dinner tomorrow night?"

"Are you sure that's a good idea? I mean I would love to, but I don't want to make Lindsey and Alex uncomfortable."

"It will be fine. They both know we're dating. Alex had asked me if we were living together before I had a chance to tell her, and Lindsey said you're cool," Catherine explained.

"I guess I should feel special if a fourteen year old thinks I'm cool."

"You're definitely special in my book," she said, closing the distance between them, and placing her hands on his chest. Looking up into his eyes, she slid her arms around his neck. "And I feel lucky to have such a sexy, amazing man in my life."

"I think I'm the lucky one," Warrick whispered, wrapping his arms around Catherine. He leaned down to give her a brief kiss, but it quickly deepened.

Catherine hesitantly pushed herself back away from Warrick. As much as she didn't want to stop kissing him, she knew this wasn't the time or the place. "So I'll see you tomorrow at five for dinner?"

"I'll be there," he replied, giving her one last quick kiss before leaving her office.

* * *

Lindsey was walking down the hall, on the way to get herself a drink, when she thought she heard muffled cries through Alex's door. She knocked lightly on the door before opening it. "Alex, are you okay?" Lindsey asked, whispering so she wouldn't wake Alex if she was asleep.

"Um, yeah. I'm fine," Alex replied, sitting up while reaching over to turn on a light. She grabbed a tissue, wiping under her eyes in an attempt to appear as she said.

"Oh, because I thought I heard you crying," Lindsey said quietly, looking down at the carpet. "I'll just go back to my room then."

"It's okay. You can stay and we can talk if you want," Alex said. She had woken up from another nightmare, and knew she wouldn't be able to sleep again anytime soon.

"Okay," Lindsey said, climbing onto the other side of Alex's bed. "Did you have a nightmare? I had them a lot after my dad died."

"I did, but let's talk about something else. Would you want to come to the mall with me tomorrow after you're done school?" Alex asked.

"Yeah, that would be cool," Lindsey replied, turning and smiling at Alex.

"Good, because I was thinking you could help me pick out something to get mom for Mother's Day. It's only a couple of days away, and you know her better," Alex explained.

Lindsey was quiet for the next few moments. She pulled a pillow into her lap, and nervously began playing with the edge of it before she said, "You can tell me about your nightmares and what happened to you. You don't have to always change the subject. I'm not a kid. I can handle talking about it."

"I know, Lindsey, and I'm sorry if I made you think I think that. It's just that it's really hard for me to talk about to anyone, even mom. A week ago I never would have thought I would be sitting in bed, talking to my little sister during the middle of the night. I will tell you about everything soon, just not tonight, okay?"

"Okay," Lindsey said, pausing before she continued. "Would you mind if I stayed in here with you for the rest of the night?"

"Of course not, but I think you should try to go back to sleep. I don't think mom would be happy if I kept you up all night talking, when you have to get up for school."

"Thanks," Lindsey said, moving to get under the covers.

Alex didn't say much else. She was too embarrassed to admit that she would prefer to not be alone. "Goodnight, Lindsey."

"Goodnight Alex," Lindsey replied, closing her eyes. They both quickly fell asleep.

* * *

A couple of days later, Catherine was sitting at her kitchen table, sipping a cup of coffee, and reading the newspaper. She placed the mug down when Alex and Lindsey came into the room. She was surprised when Lindsey handed her a thin gift wrapped box with two cards on it. "What's this?" she asked, not remembering what day it was.

"Happy Mother's Day, Mom," Lindsey and Alex both said, leaning to give her a hug.

"Oh my god, I completely forgot," Catherine said.

"I know it's not much, but we thought you would like it," Alex said.

After opening both cards, Catherine eyes were brimming with tears. She unwrapped the box, letting a gasp escape when she saw what was inside. A few tears fell as she picked up the picture. "It's perfect," she said, looking from the picture up to Alex and Lindsey. The picture was of Alex and Lindsey sitting on a wooden bench, leaning into each other with smiles on their faces.

"So you like it?" Lindsey asked.

"I love it," Catherine replied, standing up and embracing the two. After a few moments, she let them go. "When did you get this done?"

"When we went to the mall Friday," Alex answered. "I was telling Lindsey about when you were showing me the pictures, and then we saw the photo shop. We thought you would like a picture of us together."

"Thank you so much," Catherine said, giving them another hug.

* * *

Over the next few weeks, everything continued to go rather smoothly. The biggest bump in the road was when Catherine told her parents about Alex. They had an argument and didn't speak to each other for a few days. Lily was upset that Catherine never told her about Alex, and she didn't understand why. Catherine tried to explain but it only led to more tension between the pair. Lily finally gave in and called her daughter, having decided she already missed out on enough of her granddaughter's life, and thought getting to know Alex was more important than being mad at Catherine. Lily, Sam, Catherine, Lindsey, and Alex all went out to dinner one evening. Conversation was minimal at first, but as the evening went on, they warmed up to each other.

Greg and Alex spent almost all of the time they weren't working, together. They weren't romantically involved, but both wanted to catch up on all they had missed during the years they hadn't seen each other.

One night they were at Greg's apartment, getting ready to watch a movie. Alex was in the bathroom, while Greg was getting them a couple of drinks. Greg was having a beer, and Alex was having a wine cooler. Greg had just set the drinks and bowl of popcorn on the coffee table, when the doorbell rang. He went to answer the door, and was surprised to see his parents and sister standing on the other side. "Mom, Dad, Emily, what are you guys doing here?" he asked. The surprised look on his face turned to panic when he remembered Alex was there.

"Now what kind of greeting is that?" his mother, Diane said, pulling him into a hug.

"I'm sorry. You just caught me off guard," Greg said, moving back so they could enter the apartment. "I thought you were going to call when you booked your flight?"

"We were, but your mother thought it would be fun to surprise you," Greg's father, Steve explained.

"Is this a bad time?" Emily asked, noticing the drinks on the table. "Is someone else here?"

"Sort of, and yes," Greg replied, answering both questions at once.

"We can leave and see you tomorrow if you had plans for tonight," Diane told Greg.

"It's okay, you can stay. I'm going to give her a heads up that you're here," Greg said, moving to go down the hall. He was hoping that Alex would be okay with them being there. He wasn't sure of how she would react to them showing up without any warning.

"Alex?" Greg asked quietly, knocking on the bathroom door.

Alex opened the door to him and asked, "Who was at the door?"

"My parents and Emily. They decided to stop by for a surprise visit," he told her.

"They're here now?" she asked.

He couldn't read the look on her face. "Yeah, they're in the living room right now."

"Oh, um…" she started, looking down between them.

"I can ask them to come back another time," he said, noticing her hesitation.

"No, it's okay. Just give me a minute and I'll be ready."

"Okay."

Greg walked back into the living room. "She'll be right out," he announced, sitting on the arm of his couch.

"So, who is she?" Diane asked.

"She's a friend," Greg said.

"Just a friend?" Emily questioned.

"Yes, just a friend. A very good friend," Greg confirmed.

"Is she one of your colleagues?" Steve asked.

"No," Greg said. He knew they were going to keep questioning him, but there was something he wanted to get out of the way before they asked anything else. "I need to tell you something."

"What is it Greg?" his mother asked, noticing by the tone of his voice that something was wrong. "Is everything okay?"

"Everything's fine," Greg said, pausing for a moment. He wasn't sure how to tell them who was there. "I want you to know that she's been through a lot this past month, so I don't want any of you to give either of us a hard time for not calling you as soon as I ran into her. It's been a hard time for her."

"Why do you think we would give her a hard time?" Emily asked. Do we know her?"

"Yes, you actually know her very well, or at least you used to," Greg said.

"How? From where?" Diane asked, a puzzled look on her face.

"From a long time ago," Alex said quietly, taking a step into the room.

They all turned to look at Alex. Steve's, Diane's, and Emily's faces all displayed their state of shock. None of them said anything or moved for a few moments. They couldn't believe who was standing in front of them. 'It couldn't be her, could it?' they thought to themselves.

Emily was the first to move. Slowly she stood up. "Oh my god, Alex?" she questioned, with a shaky voice. "Is that really you?"

Alex replied with a nod, she was fighting a loosing battle with the tears in her eyes.

That was all Emily needed before she ran up to Alex and gave her a hug. "I can't believe you're here," she said through her own tears. The two stood there for a minute before they were joined by Diane.

"It's so good to see you, Alex," Diane said.

"I'm happy to see all of you too," Alex replied, taking a step back. "I'm sorry I didn't call you or anything. It's just…"

"Greg told us you've been through a lot. What happened?" Emily asked, concern evident by the look on her face. "Are you okay?"

"I…I…My…" was all Alex managed to say before she collapsed into the comforting embrace of Greg's arms. It was all too much for her right then.

"It's alright, Alex. You don't have to talk about it," Greg said, using one hand to rub her back, while using his other arm to hold her close. Her body was trembling against him.

It took a few minutes for Alex to calm down. Once she did, Greg took her by the shoulders and gently pushed her back. "Let's get you a drink of water," Greg suggested, leading Alex into the kitchen.

"Thanks," Alex said, accepting the glass of water Greg held out to her. After taking a few sips, she set it down on the counter, running her hand through her hair. "I'm so embarrassed for crying again. I thought I was done with doing that."

"Alex, it's only been a few weeks. No one expects you to be happy all the time."

"I'm sure your family wasn't expecting that from me. You all were like a second family to me, and now I can't even talk to them."

"Hey, I'm sure they will understand when you explain to them what happened."

"That's just it. I don't think I can go through saying it all again," Alex said, glancing down at the kitchen tile.

Greg reached out, placing his hand on her shoulder. "I can tell them if you want me to."

She looked up at him. "You will?"

"Of course, that's what friends are for," he told her. "Let's go back in there and I'll do the talking."

Steve, Diane, and Emily looked at the pair as they came back into the room. "I'm sorry about that," Alex said, taking a seat next to Greg.

"Don't worry about it, Alex. We don't want you to feel like you have to tell us anything. We're just happy to see you again," Diane said. "And we're sorry for dropping in on you."

The ringing of a phone interrupted the conversation. "Oh, that's mine," Alex said, picking up her cell phone off the coffee table and glancing at the caller id. "It's my mom. I have to take this."

"You can go in my room if you want," Greg offered.

"Thanks, and Greg, you can tell them while I'm gone," Alex said, getting up and going into his room.

Once the door closed behind her, Emily turned to Greg. "Her mom?" she asked, a puzzled look on her face.

"It's a long story," Greg explained.

"We've got the time, son. We're going to be here for a week, and maybe longer now that we know Alex is here," Steve said.

"Okay then," Greg said, placing his hands on his knees. "Where should I start?"

"How about telling us how you found her?" Emily suggested.

"Alright, well…" Greg said as he began to tell them everything. He told them about how he ran into her at the lab, the attack at the Miller's, how she found out Catherine was her mother, and finally about her years in foster care.

After Greg was finished talking, no one said anything for a couple of minutes as they tried to absorb all that he told them.

"No wonder she couldn't talk about it," Diane said. "At least she has her family and you Greg. It seems like you two are really close."

"Alex," Emily said when she noticed Alex coming out of Greg's room. She jumped up, ran over to her, and gave her a quick hug. "I'm sorry to hear about all you went through."

"Thanks," Alex replied, moving to sit back down next to Greg. "I told my mom you were here, and she wants you to all come over for dinner tomorrow night."

"That sounds wonderful," Diane said.

They spent the rest of the night talking about school, Alex's modeling, her family, and anything else they thought wouldn't upset Alex. After a few hours had gone by, Diane, Steve, and Emily left to go to their hotel.

* * *

A/N: Thanks so much to those that are still reading and an extra thanks to those who review. Reviews make me so happy! I appreciate everyone for being so patient with me. I have been stressed out big time and haven't had much time as I would have liked to write. Please review so I know you are reading and what you think of this fic! Also, let me know if you have any suggestions that can help me improve, or anything you want to see. 


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